Quantitative and qualitative tools in the historical analysis of regional development in the Vale do Paraíba (1970-2000) [As ferramentas quantitativas e qualitativas na análise histórica do desenvolvimento regional: o Vale do Paraíba de 1970-2000]

Abstract

Current paper discusses how the historical analysis of regional development may be applied as research methodology to define the quantitative and qualitative tools in a historical approach. The literature on the evaluation of regional development, reports by public institutions of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, and IBGE and IPEA data were the tools employed for this investigation. The relevance of quantitative tools on the measurements of inter-regional differences and the need to use them was established, coupled to the qualitative tools for the definitions of activities that foreground regional development.