In this document we analyze the dynamics of per capita value added in manufacturing as a proxy of per capita income in Mexico’s municipalities and US counties. Specifically we seek to determine if there is convergence (absolute or conditional), divergence or stratification. A dynamic panel...

Adopting a legal definition of informality, this paper studies the causes of informality in general and with a particular application to Mexico. It starts with a discussion on the definition and measures of informality. It then argues and provides evidence that informality is not only a...

This paper discusses the growth slowdown of the Mexican economy during the reform and post reform periods. It addresses four possible factors behind the growth deceleration. First, the role of international trade integration showing that the trade policy reforms of the 1980s and 1990s were in...

Latin America has been dominated by growth expansions that, more often than not, have ended in crises and protracted periods of stagnation. This has led to poor growth performance during most of the past century. This paper reviews Latin American growth experiences and discusses some particular...

Social programs can reduce productivity and growth as they inadvertently generate perverse incentives for workers and firms. The core hypothesis is that these programs segment the labor market, tax formal salaried employment and subsidize informal salaried and non-salaried employment. Larger...

This article analizes the relationship between health and economic growth and poverty. It finds that Mexico presents lower levels of health that those expected for its degree of development. It also concludes that there are huge contrasts among geographic zones, ethnic groups and socioeconomic...

This work finds that FDI affects negativelly economic growth. This outcome is grounded on a demand-sided growth model which includes the shrinkage effect of foreing firms surpluses repatriation. Although, in one first stage FDI contributes to alleviate the financial shortage, in the long run it...

Human development, understood as a long-term synergism between technological, physiological and cultural improvements, is a decisive, long-term factor of economic growth. However, it is characterized by intergenerational traps that slow down economic growth. This characterization is useful to...

Following its opening to trade and foreign investment in the mid-1980s, Mexico’s economic growth has been modest at best, particularly in comparison with that of China. Comparing these countries and reviewing the literature, we conclude that the relation between openness and growth is not a...

This article performs an analysis of the relationship that exists between economic growth and the environment in the 32 states of the Mexican Republic. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) suggests that there is indeed a relationship between economic growth and the environment. As economies...