Graduation Semester and Year

2006

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Planning and Public Policy

Department

Urban and Public Affairs

First Advisor

Ardeshir Anjomani

Abstract

This research investigates industrial regional growth and its determinants in Mexico from 1993 to 2003. Strategies of local economic development, usually based on industrial promotion, require knowing main determinants of industrial regional growth. The case study shows that there is no variable with a systematically strong effect for all industries which policymakers and planners might directly control. This finding warns us about generic policy designs uncritically based on outcomes from other experiences. Although these results show a complex problem in terms of regional policy, some recommendations for industrial spatial distribution may, however, be derived from this study. For instance, during this period and on average, industries work in favor of geographical convergence of manufacturing. This geographical trend provides a unique opportunity to combine endogenous growth variables such as Jacobs economies with current macroeconomic spatial effects to design a policy of regional industrialization in Mexico. Additionally, the allocation of resources from oil exports under economic and non-economic criteria facilitates this process with no critical decisions in terms of the equity/efficiency dilemma. Results obtained may be influenced by the level of aggregation of the data and the events in the period of study such the economic crisis and recovering and the free trade liberalization policy.

Disciplines

Public Affairs | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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