Distribuição regional do crédito bancário e convergência no crescimento estadual brasileiro

The aim of this paper is to analyze the convergence in the growth rates among Brazilian States in the period 1988-2001. In addition to the traditional variables used in the studies about convergence, Brazilian States credit indicators were included, which is the very innovation of this study. The results show that, in general, credit increases the speed of convergence, although some kinds of directed credit generate the inverse effect. This suggests that credit has a positive impact in the growth of Brazilian States. Furthermore, the credit variable that was more effective in the convergence analysis is loans and bonds discounted in relation to the State income. As it turns out, this variable is likely to be a suitable proxy for the level of financial development of a State.