20 Jahre NAFTA: Mexikos gescheitertes upgrading in globalen Güterketten

Parnreiter Christof
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Parnreiter Christof: Hamburg

ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, 2013, vol. 57, issue 1-2, 216-236

Abstract: 20 years of NAFTA: Mexico’s failed upgrading in global commodity chains. The paper analyses Mexico’s performance under NAFTA, showing that despite a strong increase in foreign direct investment and exports the expectations raised 20 years ago could not be fulfilled. Mexico did not get closer to the levels of economic and social development of its NAFTA partners, and it lost as compared to other Latin American countries. As main reason for this failure the paper identifies the unsuccessful upgrading in global commodity chains: Mexico has been transformed into an exportation platform assembling imported inputs. Interested just in the country’s huge reservoir of cheap labor, foreign firms have shown little - if any - propensity to expand backward linkages or to invest in technological or organizational upgrading of local suppliers. Moreover, and different to China, the Mexican state has done little to balance the private sector’s lacking commitment to research and development.

Keywords: Mexico; NAFTA; economy; free trade; development; global commodity chains; Mexico; NAFTA; economy; free trade; development; global commodity chains (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bpj:zfwige:v:57:y:2013:i:1-2:p:216-236:n:16

DOI: 10.1515/zfw.2013.0016

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