Essays on Economic Policy (ESPE in Spanish) - Trade Liberalization and Regional Productivity Growth: Some Lessons from Mexico's Northern Border Manufacturing After 20 Years

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En la revista Ensayos sobre Política Económica (ESPE) divulgamos los resultados y las propuestas de política que surgen de investigaciones académicas realizadas en el Banco de la República. Cuando nos lea, tenga siempre presente que el contenido de nuestros artículos, así como los análisis y conclusiones que de ellos se derivan, son exclusiva responsabilidad de sus autores. El material divulgado en nuestra revista ESPE no compromete ni representa la opinión del Banco de la República ni la de su Junta Directiva.

AUTHOR OR EDITOR
Arias, Adrián de León
Irving Joel Llamosas
Publication Date:
Monday, 18 April 2016

The analysis of productivity performance of the Mexican Northern Border offers an interesting case study for that objective. This is because it combines mobile growth factors due to regional reallocation of economic activity and, on the other hand, the fact that factors that are considered immobile in the literature such as education, infrastructure and specialization were initially localised in Central Mexico. We show that, throughout this period, in the Northern Border the accumulation of immobile factors and the efficiency in its advantage have been determining factors in its economic growth.