The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Regional Disparities in Mexico

Javier Sánchez‐Reaza and Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Javier Sanchez-Reaza and Andrés Rodríguez-Pose

Growth and Change, 2002, vol. 33, issue 1, 72-90

Abstract: After a long period of industrialization based on import substitution (ISI), Mexico started to open up its economy by accessing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1986. The export‐promotion strategy was transformed into one of regional integration with the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. The paper explores the impact of the opening of the economy on regional disparities in Mexico using σ and β‐convergence analyses. Four different samples have been employed to control for possible data bias linked to the inclusion of oil‐producing and maquiladora‐based states. The results show that whereas the final stages of the ISI period were dominated by convergence trends, trade liberalization (GATT) and economic integration (NAFTA) have led to divergence. In particular, the NAFTA period is related to divergence regardless of the type of analysis chosen and the sample used.

Date: 2002
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (41)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/0017-4815.00180

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:growch:v:33:y:2002:i:1:p:72-90

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=0017-4815

Access Statistics for this article

Growth and Change is currently edited by Dan Rickman and Barney Warf

More articles in Growth and Change from Wiley Blackwell
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().