REGIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH IN MEXICO: AN ANALYSIS OF TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY

Abstract

This paper studies the characteristics of recent regional changes in the Mexican manufacturing industry through an analysis of economic growth sources between 1975 and 1998. On the hand side, the investigation is in response to the De León (1999) findings suggesting that there exists a negative productivity growth in the northern region. On the other hand, this investigation is motivated by the González-Aréchiga and Ramírez (1989) findings that suggest that productivity in the northern border region has increased as a consequence of the outward oriented policies, the free trade zone, and the assembly exports plants: Maquila. The obtained results indicate that the northern region showed positive gains in productivity and that the specific trade and development programs that were pursued by the Mexican government between 1975 and 1998 explain the changes in structure and productivity of the region.