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Productivity effects on Mexican manufacturing employment

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  • Mollick, André Varella
  • Cabral, René

Abstract

We examine the effects of labor productivity and total factor productivity (TFP) on employment across 25 Mexican manufacturing industries from 1984 to 2000. Employing panel data methods, several interesting findings emerge. First, we observe a strong and positive impact of NAFTA on employment. Second, productivity exerts a procyclical, positive effect on employment but this effect becomes smaller after NAFTA. Third, partitions of our sample according to capital-labor intensity suggest that industries which are less capital-intensive were affected negatively on impact by NAFTA but that productivity impacted employment positively after NAFTA. In contrast, more capital-intensive industries display these results in reverse.

Suggested Citation

  • Mollick, André Varella & Cabral, René, 2009. "Productivity effects on Mexican manufacturing employment," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 66-81, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecofin:v:20:y:2009:i:1:p:66-81
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    Cited by:

    1. Hamid Beladi & Saibal Kar & Sugata Marjit, 2013. "Emigration, Finite Changes and Wage Inequality," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 61-71, March.
    2. René Cabral & André Varella Mollick & Eduardo Saucedo, 2016. "Violence in Mexico and its effects on labor productivity," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 56(2), pages 317-339, March.
    3. Manuel David Cruz, 2022. "Labor productivity, real wages, and employment: evidence from a panel of OECD economies over 1960-2019," Working Papers PKWP2203, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    4. Pedro H. Albuquerque & Prasad R. Vemala, 2024. "Femicide Rates in Mexican Cities along the US-Mexico Border," Journal of Borderlands Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(5), pages 897-911, September.
    5. René Cabral & André Mollick, 2012. "Mexico’s regional output convergence after NAFTA: a dynamic panel data analysis," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 48(3), pages 877-895, June.
    6. René Cabral & Jorge Alberto Alvarado, 2021. "The Role of FDI on Exports Performance: Evidence from the Mexican States," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 44(6), pages 684-708, November.
    7. Sangho Kim, 2014. "Estimating Productivity Growth In The Korean Economy Without Restrictive Assumptions," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 32(2), pages 520-532, April.
    8. Rene Cabral & Andre Varella Mollick & Joao Ricardo Faria, 2010. "Capital and Labour Mobility and their Impacts on Mexico's Regional Labour Markets," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(9), pages 1523-1542.
    9. Marco Antonio Márquez Mendoza, 2012. "Efectos de derrame y de retroalimentación industrial en América del Norte: un enfoque nacional e internacional," Ensayos Revista de Economia, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Economia, vol. 0(1), pages 1-34, May.
    10. André Varella Mollick & Jorge Ibarra-Salazar, 2013. "Productivity Effects on the Wage Premium of Mexican Maquiladoras," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 27(3), pages 208-220, August.

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