Abstract

GARDUNO RIVERA, Rafael. La apertura comercial y su efecto en la distribución regional de México. El trimestre econ [online]. 2014, vol.81, n.322, pp.413-439. ISSN 2448-718X.

New Economic Geography (NEG) focuses on the question of whether trade leads to a greater concentration of economic activity. Little empirical work has been done on assessing the regional distribution of the impact of trade. Therefore, this paper looks at the regional distribution in Mexico of the benefits from trade after NAFTA. Unlike previous papers, this study works with municipal-level data, which not only makes it possible to observe the growth patterns across space more clearly but also to identify the effect of NAFTA. The results show that after NAFTA, output per worker in regions near the Mexico-U.S. border grew faster than that in those further away. Furthermore, the trade agreement increased inequality, implying trade increased economic concentration by causing cities to grow faster than other regions. Similarly, regions with a more literate workforce were better able to benefit from NAFTA, growing faster than other areas after the trade agreement.

Keywords : economías de aglomeración; crecimiento económico; México; disparidades regionales; apertura comercial; costos de transporte.

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