Globalization, De-Industrialization and Mexican Exceptionalism 1750-1879 / Rafael Dobado González, Aurora Gómez Galvarriato, Jeffrey G. Williamson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

González, Rafael Dobado.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Galvarriato, Aurora Gómez.

Williamson, Jeffrey G.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w12316.

NBER working paper series no. w12316

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2006.

Summary:

Like the rest of the poor periphery, Mexico had to deal with de-industrialization forces between 1750 and 1913, those critical 150 years when the economic gap between the industrial core and the primary-product-producing periphery widened to such huge dimensions. Yet, from independence to mid-century Mexico did better on this score than did most countries around the periphery. This paper explores the sources of Mexican exceptionalism with de-industrialization. It decomposes those sources into those attributable to productivity events in the core and to globalization forces connecting core to periphery, and to those attributable to domestic forces specific to Mexico. It uses a neo-Ricardian model (with non-tradable foodstuffs) to implement the decomposition, and advocates a price dual approach, and develops a new price and wage data base 1750-1878. There were three forces at work that account for Mexican exceptionalism: first, the terms of trade and Dutch disease effects were much weaker; second, Mexico maintained secular wage competitiveness with the core; and third, Mexico had the autonomy to devise effective ways to foster industry. The first appears to have been the most important.

Notes:

Print version record

June 2006.