Convergence and Economic Growth considering Human Capital and R&D Spillovers Convergencia y Crecimiento Economico en Mexico considerando al Capital Humano y derrames en Investigacion y Desarrollo

In the recent growth literature, the accumulation of human capital and R&D have gained a central role. This study tries to narrow the bridge between the fields of regional convergence theory, economic growth and human capital. Unlike traditional economic growth theories, which tend to focus on exogenous comparative advantage or technological differences among regions as causes for growth, regional economic growth emphasizes the roles of increasing returns to scale in production, human capital and R&D in determining the growth of economic activities. In particular, I will consider the interaction of regional human capital and R&D economics following the recent work in economic growth and convergence. Using the recent developments in economic growth, the study centers on the regional convergence pattern in Mexico emphasizing the effects of human capital, R&D and interregional spillovers on growth. The findings suggest the existence of some human capital and bounded knowledge spillovers across regional states in Mexico. En la literatura del crecimiento, la acumulación del capital humano y la investigación y desarrollo tienen un papel central. El estudio trata de cerrar la brecha entre el campo de la convergencia, el crecimiento económico y el capital humano. A diferencia de las teorías tradicionales del crecimiento, que se centran en las ventajas comparativas y las diferencias tecnológicas entre las regiones como los determinantes del crecimiento, las nuevas teorías del crecimiento regional enfatizan el papel de los retornos crecientes a escala en la producción, el capital humano y la investigación y desarrollo para determinar el crecimiento de las actividades económicas. En particular, el estudio considera la interacción entre el capital humano y la investigación y desarrollo en el ámbito regional, siguiendo los estudios recientes en el campo del crecimiento económico y la convergencia económica. El estudio se centra en el patrón de convergencia para México, al enfatizar los efectos del capital humano, la investigación y desarrollo y las derramas interregionales en el crecimiento. Los resultados sugieren que existen derrames en el capital humano pero restricciones en la actividad de investigación y desarrollo regional para los estados de México.Economic Growth, Mexico, Spillovers, Human Capital

Mexico’s Industrial Engine of Growth: Cointegration and Causality

The present study applies the techniques of cointegration and Granger causality to examine the causal relationship between industrial growth and overall economic performance in the Mexican economy. The empirical evidence presented in the paper tries to find support in Mexico for the Kaldor’s engine of economic growth hypothesis.Cointegation, Causality, Economic Growth, Mexico.

Regional Convergence of Income and Labor Productivity in Mexico

Economic growth continues to be a major objective of state governments in Mexico. What role do firm location, openness, education, and wage rates play in determining the ability of a state to increase the growth of its economy? This study examines the economic competitiveness of the Mexican states using location coefficients. This paper tries to bridge the gap between the macroeconomic issue of convergence on the aggregate income level and the microeconomic issue of labor productivity convergence on the industry and sectorial level. Resumen. El crecimiento económico continua siendo uno de los objetivos más importantes para los gobiernos estatales en México. ¿Cuál es el papel de la localización de las empresas, la apertura, la educación y los salaries en determinar la habilidad de los estados para fomentar el crecimiento de la economia? El estudio examina la competitividad de los estados en México mediante el uso de índices de localización. El estudio trata de cerrar la brecha entre el tema de la convergencia macroeconómica en el nivel agregado del ingreso y los temas microeconómicos de la convergencia de la productividad laboral a nivel sectorial e industrial.Economic Convergence, Labor Productivity, location coefficients, Mexico

Tijuana's Dynamic Unemployment and Output Growth

During the 1990's, Mexico successfully implemented a program of economic reforms and free trade aimed at a complete restructuring of its economy. Surprisingly, the reform process seems to have had little impact on unemployment. An analysis of trends indicates that, even in the worst years of economic crisis, average unemployment rates in Mexico did not exceed 7.4% (reached in the third quarter of 1995). Tijuana's unemployment rate averaged 0.725% in 2001, when the economy was experiencing the start of a recession and major structural reforms were expected. These figures seem very low when compared to those for other countries. This article's goal is to evaluate transitory demand shocks and permanent supply shocks in Tijuana's unemployment time series, as given by that identification restriction and the structural break unit root methodology. Okun's Law is also tested for the Tijuana unemployment series. Keywords: 1. unit root, 2. output, 3. unemployment, 4. Tijuana, 5. Mexico. Resumen: En la década pasada, México estableció un programa de reformas económicas y de libre comercio encaminadas a la completa reestructuración de su economía. Sorprendentemente, el proceso de reforma tiene poco impacto en el desempleo. Un análisis de las tendencias indica que, aun en los peores trimestres de la crisis económica, la tasa de desempleo promedio no fue mayor de 7.4%. La tasa de desempleo trimestral de la ciudad de Tijuana en 2001 alcanzó en promedio 0.725%, en un período donde inició una recesión en la economía. Estas cifras son bajas al ser comparadas con las de otros países. El objetivo del estudio es evaluar los choques transitorios de la demanda y los permanentes de la oferta en el desempleo en Tijuana en diferentes períodos. Para ello utiliza la restricción de identificación y la metodología de raíz unitaria con corte estructural. La ley de Okun también es verificada para conocer la evolución del desempleo en Tijuana. Palabras clave: 1. raíz unitaria, 2. producción, 3. desempleo, 4. Tijuana, 5. México.Artículo recibido el 5 de marzo de 2002.Artículo aceptado el 20 de noviembre de 2002.1. unit roots 2. output 3. unemployment 4. Tijuana 5. Mexico.

The role of telecommunications infrastructure and human capital: Mexico´s economic growth and convergence

Understanding the sources of regional economic growth in Mexico is important. Hence, in this paper, I will briefly discuss developments in the theory of economic growth and discuss the theoretical work in the Mexican context, and review some of the more recent empirical studies dealing with public infrastructure and economic growth. The development of regions in the periphery is of special concern to the development of the Mexican Economy. The regional planning approach in Mexico emphasizes strategic, geographically-focused investments in infrastructure, and the application of industrial policies to influence the location of industries and foster the development of inter-industry linkages. The Mexican states are diverse in terms of geographic, demographic, and economic characteristics. Between the 1980's and the 2000's, the lagging regions of the south remained among the poorest, while the regions with above average per capita incomes remained in the North and in the area near Mexico City. However, there is adequate evidence to suggest the existence of and increase in regional disparities in Mexico. For example, Diaz-Bautista (2000) showed regional output disparities among selected states in Mexico. The objectives of this paper are twofold. First, the relationship between public policies and regional growth in Mexico is examined. This includes a discussion on the effects of infrastructure on regional development. Second, the role of public investments in the development of the Mexican states is also examined. The specific question addressed is whether the varying incidence of public infrastructure investments influenced the development patterns of lagging, intermediate and leading states. This paper is divided into four main parts. The first part provides the background and motivation for the study. The second part highlights the need to examine regions as the unit of analysis and reviews the literature of the relationship between infrastructure investments and regional growth. The third part examines the efficacy of infrastructure investments in the development of the Mexican states. This section presents the data, choice of methodology, model specification, the econometric model and the results from the empirical analysis. The final section presents some policy implications and directions for future research.

The role of telecommunications infrastructure and human capital: Mexico's economic growth and convergence

Understanding the sources of regional economic growth in Mexico is important. Hence, in this paper, I will briefly discuss developments in the theory of economic growth and discuss the theoretical work in the Mexican context, and review some of the more recent empirical studies dealing with public infrastructure and economic growth. The development of regions in the periphery is of special concern to the development of the Mexican Economy. The regional planning approach in Mexico emphasizes strategic, geographically-focused investments in infrastructure, and the application of industrial policies to influence the location of industries and foster the development of inter-industry linkages. The Mexican states are diverse in terms of geographic, demographic, and economic characteristics. Between the 1980's and the 2000's, the lagging regions of the south remained among the poorest, while the regions with above average per capita incomes remained in the North and in the area near Mexico City. However, there is adequate evidence to suggest the existence of and increase in regional disparities in Mexico. For example, Diaz-Bautista (2000) showed regional output disparities among selected states in Mexico. The objectives of this paper are twofold. First, the relationship between public policies and regional growth in Mexico is examined. This includes a discussion on the effects of infrastructure on regional development. Second, the role of public investments in the development of the Mexican states is also examined. The specific question addressed is whether the varying incidence of public infrastructure investments influenced the development patterns of lagging, intermediate and leading states. This paper is divided into four main parts. The first part provides the background and motivation for the study. The second part highlights the need to examine regions as the unit of analysis and reviews the literature of the relationship between infrastructure investments and regional growth. The third part examines the efficacy of infrastructure investments in the development of the Mexican states. This section presents the data, choice of methodology, model specification, the econometric model and the results from the empirical analysis. The final section presents some policy implications and directions for future research

A Simple Dynamic Model of Credit and Aggregate Demand

The purpose of the paper is to present a tractable model of an old topic which is becoming more important in macroeconomics: the link between financial structure and economic activity.Aggregate Demand, Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy, moral hazard, adverse selection, suuply of credit, reserves.

Apertura Comercial y Convergencia Regional en Mexico

Para conocer el efecto que la apertura comercial ha tenido en la tasa de crecimiento economico de largo plazo y en el proceso de convergencia real entre los estados de Mexico, el presente estudio revisa el marco teorico y conceptual que parece mas adecaudo para esta finalidad, que no es otro que el proporcionado por la teoria del crecimiento y en particular pro algunos de los desarrollos teoricos y empiricos mas recientes en este campo. El estudio se enfoca al estudio de la convergencia economica regional en Mexico y los efectos de la apertura comercial. In order to know the effects of trade openess in the long term growth rate and in the process of economic convergence between the states of Mexico, the present study reviews the theoretical and conceptual framework that seems adecuate for this purpose, that is not other than the provided by growth theory and in particular by some of the recent theoretical and empirical developments in the field. The study is focused on the regional economic convergence process in Mexico, and the effects of economic openess.Economic Growth, Convergence, Openess, Trade, Development.

CRECIMIENTO, INSTITUCIONES Y CONVERGENCIA EN MEXICO CONSIDERANDO A LA FRONTERA NORTE

El presente estudio se centra en uno de los problemas económicos regionales fundamentales de nuestra época: el desenvolvimiento económico de la convergencia y el crecimiento en las regiones considerando a las instituciones. El estudio se ocupa de revisar la literatura teórica del crecimiento económico, y en particular por algunos de los desarrollos teóricos y empíricos que han tenido lugar recientemente en el campo de la convergencia económica. De igual forma, el estudio analiza la convergencia regional en México y aborda los fundamentos teóricos y empíricos en el cual las instituciones juegan un papel importante en el proceso de integración regional en México y en especial en la frontera norte. Finalmente, se realiza un análisis empírico de la convergencia regional de largo plazo para los estados de México, introduciendo una variable de corrupción dentro de las instituciones, una variable de frontera, controlando con una variable de capital humano regional. Los resultados estiman una tasa anual de convergencia de entre -0.018% a 4.1% para el periodo de 1970 a 2001, cuando se toman en cuenta los efectos de las variables institucionales, de capital humano y de frontera. The present study is focused on one of the main economic problems of our time, the study of regional economic convergence and economic growth with consideration to institutions. The study conducts a literature review on the theoretical and empirical works of economic growth, with emphasis in regional centered on the regional convergence of the Mexican states taking into consideration institutional and border state factors. The empirical analysis estimates an annual rate of convergence that varies from -0.018% to 4.1% for the period between 1970 and 2001, when controlling for human capital, institutional and border effects.Economic Growth, Institutions, Mexico, Regional Convergence

Problemas Estructurales de la Economía Mexicana

En esta obra, Alejandro Díaz-Bautista compila una serie de artículos de investigación económica en donde se recogen diversos puntos de vista de los cambios económicos ocurridos durante los últimos tres sexenios en México, que se registraron en la esfera política económica y en particular relacionados a los problemas estructurales de la economía Mexicana. En el libro se analizan los efectos de los cambios estructurales en las fugas de capital del país, las crisis financieras, los programas de capacitación para individuos desempleados en México, las economías de aglomeración en el crecimiento manufacturero de las principales ciudades, al igual que los efectos de los cambios estructurales en el mercado de valores, las medidas de bienestar para evaluar el estándar de vida de la población y la estructura de la riqueza e ingresos familiares. En los siguientes estudios realizados por reconocidos especialistas sobre el tema, se tratan de explicar los principales problemas estructurales de la economía mexicana mediante el análisis teórico, metodológico y empírico. The study analyses the structural economic reform process in Mexico from the early 1980's to the present administration.Structural reform in Mexico, Macroeconomics, capital flight, agglomeration economies, income distribution.