This article analyzes the role of the Constitutional Financing Fund for the Northeast (FNE) within the context of regional development policies aimed at Northeastern Brazil, considering its spatial distribution across states, between urban and rural areas, as well as its sectoral allocation and distribution according to the size of beneficiary enterprises. The objective is to assess the extent to which the allocation of the fund’s resources has contributed to the diversification of the Northeastern industrial structure and to potential processes of structural transformation in the regional economy, examining whether the region has expanded its productive diversification and relative economic complexity. To this end, an exploratory and descriptive analysis of the territorial and sectoral distribution of FNE resources is conducted, seeking to identify empirical evidence of its contribution to the industrialization process of Northeastern Brazil, in line with the objectives of the National Regional Development Policy (PNDR), particularly since the second half of the 1990s. Additionally, the study examines the association between the allocation of the fund’s resources and indicators related to innovation capacity, the number of industrial establishments, and employment. The results reveal positive correlations between the participation of the FNE across Northeastern states and indicators associated with innovation, business dynamics, and labor market performance. However, the strongest correlations remain concentrated in traditional industrial sectors with lower technological intensity, suggesting that although the fund contributes to strengthening regional productive activity, progress toward a more economically complex productive structure continues to represent a challenge for regional development policy.
