Structural reforms and price liberalization in Mexican agriculture

This paper shows that the policy changes introduced by the Mexican Government in the mid-1980s induced a reduction in the profits of the crop subsector. A simple simulation exercise revealed that, under price liberalization of the four crops studied, the demand for agricultural labour will decline by 6 per cent (equivalent to about 360,000 agricultural workers); the supply of maize is expected to decline by about 11 per cent while the corresponding declines of wheat, sorghum, and beans will be 22, 13, and 5 percent, respectively. The use of fertilizer is also expected to decline to two thirds of its current use. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.