The evolution of the sectoral concentration in Portugal between 1995 and 2006: the Herfindahl-Hirschman index perspective

Abstract

This study provides a comparative analysis of the evolution of the degree of concentration of different economic sectors, through the Herfindahl-Hirschman-Index, obtained from the two main sources of enterprise information in Portugal, the Quadros de Pessoal database from the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity (1995-2006) and the Integrated System of Accounts from Statistics Portugal (2004-2006), to which the methodology of the "Manual of Business Demography Statistics" from the Eurostat and the OECD was applied to. The classification of economic activities (CAE Rev. 2.1) is further broken down to two digits in the analysis provided. Between 2004 and 2006, the sectors of highest concentration are "Manufacture of coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel", "Production and distribution of electricity" and "Air Transport", in line with the results of the international related literature