Effect of NAFTA on Mexico's Income Distribution in the Presence of Migration

Rafael Garduno-Rivera
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Rafael Garduño Rivera

No 61895, 2010 Annual Meeting, July 25-27, 2010, Denver, Colorado from Agricultural and Applied Economics Association

Abstract: This paper asks how NAFTA affected income distribution within Mexico considering changes in internal migration. Trade liberalization should theoretically increase the income of low-skilled workers in low-skilled labor-abundant developing countries. Thus, by increasing the wages of poorer workers, one might expect that trade will decrease income disparity. However, anecdotal evidence indicates that NAFTA increased the gap between rich and poor in Mexico. Understanding the distributional effects of NAFTA on regional income is particularly important in countries with high levels of geographic inequality, such as Mexico. Because trade may affect wages differently across regions within the country, accurate trade welfare measures must incorporate intra-national migration. Using household level data before and after NAFTA, I find geographic, gender and educational inequalities in the distribution of Mexican income post NAFTA.

Keywords: Food Security and Poverty; International Relations/Trade (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 21
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:aaea10:61895

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.61895

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