Estimación del VAB departamental en Uruguay y evolución en el perí­odo 1981-2011

This work is part of a broader research line with the aim to estimate the regional GVA of Uruguay and its foundations over the period 1870-2015. The results are obtained with information generated by a project that was funded by CSIC-UDELAR (R & D program). The aim is to estimate the regional (departmental) GVA for the period 1981 to 2008, with disaggregation in the following sectors: i) primary; ii) secondary (disaggregating manufacturing industry); iii) services (disaggregating trade, food and lodging, telecommunications, transport and storage). The methodology used for the secondary and services sector is indirect estimation. This is to distribute the national GVA (official data) of each sector between regions. As a general criterion we follow the method of Geary and Stark (2002) that is based on data on employment and labor income by productive sector. However, in some sectors it was necessary to implement several adjustments to this methodology. On the other hand, another empirical strategy is followed in order to estimate the GAV of the primary sector. To obtain the annual estimates, value indexes are constructed with base year 2008 (because in that year there are official GAV data by region). Regarding the contribution of this work, it should be noted that in this period there are no official annual GAV data by region. Therefore, this document represents a very important effort to build regional GAV series in order to understand the country's regional economic development from the eighties of the last century to the first decade of the new century. The estimates are compared with values that serve as a frame of reference. Specifically, estimates are contrasted with official data for 2008 (OPP, 2016a, 2016b) and with two reference studies for the year 1993 (UDELAR-FCEA, 1998; OPP, 2005a). Based on the results obtained, the evolution of regional economies is analyzed during the entire study period (1981 to 2011). Finally, it concludes on the relevance and the timeliness to have this new information. Some results are particularly interesting. There is evidence of different evolutions between regions and with important variations throughout the period. At the same time, some structural characteristics are identified in regional development patterns that make some regions richer than others. These results open an interesting research and debate agenda.