IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v38y2010i6p803-813.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Trade Liberalization and the Self-Employed in Mexico

Author

Listed:
  • Popli, Gurleen K.

Abstract

Summary This paper examines the trend in income inequality and poverty among the self-employed workers in Mexico during 1984-2002, a period of rapid trade liberalization. In the decade following the liberalization, inequality and poverty among the self-employed increased; as the economy stabilized inequality started to go down, but poverty kept increasing. To understand the observed changes the inequality and poverty indices are decomposed into within and between group components. Rising returns to skilled labor, regional differences in impact of liberalization and sectoral shifts in employment are important factors in explaining the trends in both inequality and poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Popli, Gurleen K., 2010. "Trade Liberalization and the Self-Employed in Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 803-813, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:38:y:2010:i:6:p:803-813
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305-750X(10)00035-5
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gordon H. Hanson, 2007. "Globalization, Labor Income, and Poverty in Mexico," NBER Chapters, in: Globalization and Poverty, pages 417-456, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Blanchflower, David G., 2000. "Self-employment in OECD countries," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(5), pages 471-505, September.
    3. Eduardo Lora, 1997. "A Decade of Structural Reform in Latin America: What Has Been Reformed and How to Measure It," Research Department Publications 4074, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    4. Foster, James & Greer, Joel & Thorbecke, Erik, 1984. "A Class of Decomposable Poverty Measures," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(3), pages 761-766, May.
    5. Revenga, Ana, 1997. "Employment and Wage Effects of Trade Liberalization: The Case of Mexican Manufacturing," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(3), pages 20-43, July.
    6. Marilyn CARR & Martha CHEN, 2004. "Globalization, social exclusion and gender," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 143(1-2), pages 129-160, March.
    7. Feenstra, Robert C. & Hanson, Gordon H., 1997. "Foreign direct investment and relative wages: Evidence from Mexico's maquiladoras," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3-4), pages 371-393, May.
    8. Koujianou Goldberg, Pinelopi & Pavcnik, Nina, 2003. "The response of the informal sector to trade liberalization," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 463-496, December.
    9. Mookherjee, Dilip & Shorrocks, Anthony F, 1982. "A Decomposition Analysis of the Trend in UK Income Inequality," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 92(368), pages 886-902, December.
    10. Sugata Marjit & Dibyendu S. Maiti, 2005. "Globalization, Reform and the Informal Sector," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2005-12, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Raymond Robertson, 2000. "Trade Liberalisation and Wage Inequality: Lessons from the Mexican Experience," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(6), pages 827-849, June.
    12. Szekely, Miguel, 2003. "The 1990s in Latin America: Another Decade of Persistent Inequality, but with Somewhat Lower Poverty," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 6(2), pages 1-26, November.
    13. Gordon H. Hanson & Ann Harrison, 2022. "Trade Liberalization And Wage Inequality In Mexico," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 3, pages 43-60, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    14. Miguel Székely, 2003. "The 1990S in Latin America: Another Decade of Persistent Inequality, but with Somewhat Lower Poverty," Journal of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(2), pages 317-339, November.
    15. Gordon H. Hanson, 2003. "What Has Happened to Wages in Mexico since NAFTA?," NBER Working Papers 9563, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Cragg, Michael Ian & Epelbaum, Mario, 1996. "Why has wage dispersion grown in Mexico? Is it the incidence of reforms or the growing demand for skills?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 99-116, October.
    17. repec:bla:revinw:v:41:y:1995:i:3:p:331-48 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Lora, Eduardo, 2001. "Structural Reforms in Latin America: What Has Been Reformed and How to Measure It," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 3338, Inter-American Development Bank.
    19. Miguel Székely, 2003. "The 1990s in Latin America: Another Decade of Persistent Inequality, but with Somewhat Lower Poverty," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 6, pages 317-339, November.
    20. Miguel Székely, 1995. "Poverty In Mexico During Adjustment," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 41(3), pages 331-348, September.
    21. Javier Sánchez‐Reaza & Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose, 2002. "The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Regional Disparities in Mexico," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 72-90.
    22. Zadia M. Feliciano, 2001. "Workers and Trade Liberalization: The Impact of Trade Reforms in Mexico on Wages and Employment," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 55(1), pages 95-115, October.
    23. Nicita, Alessandro, 2004. "Who benefited from trade liberalization in Mexico? Measuring the effects on household welfare," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3265, The World Bank.
    24. Ravallion, Martin & Huppi, Monika, 1991. "Measuring Changes in Poverty: A Methodological Case Study of Indonesia during an Adjustment Period," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 5(1), pages 57-82, January.
    25. Hanson, Gordon H, 1997. "Increasing Returns, Trade and the Regional Structure of Wages," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(440), pages 113-133, January.
    26. Garza-Rodriguez, Jorge, 2002. "The determinants of poverty in Mexico," MPRA Paper 65993, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    27. Eduardo Lora, 2001. "Structural Reforms in Latin America: What Has Been Reformed and How to Measure It," Research Department Publications 4293, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    28. Moore, Robert L, 1983. "Employer Discrimination: Evidence from Self-Employed Workers," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(3), pages 496-501, August.
    29. Carr, Marilyn. & Chen, Martha Alter., 2004. "Globalization, social exclusion and work : with special reference to informal employment and gender," ILO Working Papers 993698513402676, International Labour Organization.
    30. Nissanke, Machiko & Thorbecke, Erik, 2007. "Linking Globalization to Poverty," Working Paper Series UNU-WIDER Research Paper , World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    31. repec:ilo:ilowps:369851 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Huong Le, 2020. "The Impact of Financial Integration on the Labor Share of Income: An Empirical Evidence from a Panel Dataset," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(3), pages 597-627, September.
    2. Ströh de Martínez, Christiane, 2011. "Finance for the poor in demand: Who uses microfinance and why?," IPE Working Papers 10/2011, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    3. Susana HERRERO-OLARTE & Mateo LOAIZA, 2021. "Structural Or Conjunctural Changes To Reduce Poverty In Ecuador?," Regional and Sectoral Economic Studies, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 21(2), pages 19-36.
    4. Eduardo Michel Camacho & Willy W. Cortez, 2012. "Distribución del ingreso y bienestar social en México 1984-2008," Estudios Económicos, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos, vol. 27(2), pages 347-378.
    5. Thang T. Vo & Dinh X. Nguyen, 2021. "Impact of Trade Liberalization on Household Welfare: An Analysis Using Household Exposure-to-Trade Indices," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 503-531, January.
    6. Bateman, Milford, 2013. "The age of microfinance: Destroying Latin American economies from the bottom up," Working Papers 39, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE).
    7. Paolo Giordano & Kun Li, 2012. "An Updated Assessment of the Trade and Poverty Nexus in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 79119, Inter-American Development Bank.
    8. Giordano, Paolo & Li, Kun, 2012. "An Updated Assessment of the Trade and Poverty Nexus in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 4209, Inter-American Development Bank.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gurleen Popli, 2005. "Rising Wage Inequality in Mexico: Structural Reforms or Changing Labor Market Institutions?," Working Papers 2005016, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics, revised Nov 2005.
    2. Cardoso-Vargas, Carlos, 2015. "Potencial de mercado y desigualdad salarial, evidencia para México [Market potential and wage inequality, evidence for Mexico]," MPRA Paper 69696, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 Nov 2015.
    3. Andrew B. Bernard & Raymond Robertson & Peter K. Schott, 2010. "Is Mexico a Lumpy Country?," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(5), pages 937-950, November.
    4. Ayal Kimhi, 2004. "Growth, Inequality and Labor Markets in LDCs: A Survey," CESifo Working Paper Series 1281, CESifo.
    5. Giordano, Paolo & Li, Kun, 2012. "An Updated Assessment of the Trade and Poverty Nexus in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 4209, Inter-American Development Bank.
    6. Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Nina Pavcnik, 2007. "Distributional Effects of Globalization in Developing Countries," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(1), pages 39-82, March.
    7. Mehta, Aashish & Mohr, Belinda Acuña, 2012. "Economic Liberalization and Rising College Premiums in Mexico: A Reinterpretation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(9), pages 1908-1920.
    8. Cardoso-Vargas, Carlos, 2015. "Potencial de mercado y desigualdad salarial, evidencia para México [Market potential and wage inequality, evidence for Mexico]," MPRA Paper 68424, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 Nov 2015.
    9. Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez & Nora Lustig, 2017. "Labour income inequality in Mexico: Puzzles solved and unsolved," Working Papers 1719, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    10. Chiquiar, Daniel, 2008. "Globalization, regional wage differentials and the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem: Evidence from Mexico," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 70-93, January.
    11. Nicita, Alessandro, 2009. "The price effect of tariff liberalization: Measuring the impact on household welfare," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 19-27, May.
    12. Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez & Nora Lustig, 2017. "Labour income inequality in Mexico: Puzzles solved and unsolved," Working Papers 1719, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    13. Davide Gandolfi & Timothy Halliday & Raymond Robertson, 2017. "Trade, FDI, migration, and the place premium: Mexico and the United States," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 153(1), pages 1-37, February.
    14. Gurleen K. Popli, 2007. "Rising Wage Inequality in Mexico, 1984-2000: A Distributional Analysis," Journal of Income Distribution, Ad libros publications inc., vol. 16(2), pages 49-67, June.
    15. Zouhair Mrabet, 2012. "The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Labor Market of Developing Countries: What can Literature tell us?," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 4(6), pages 307-318.
    16. Arias, Javier & Artuc, Erhan & Lederman, Daniel & Rojas, Diego, 2018. "Trade, informal employment and labor adjustment costs," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 396-414.
    17. Raymundo M. Campos-Vázquez & Nora Lustig & John Scott, 2018. "Inequality in Mexico: Labour markets and fiscal redistribution 1989-2014," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-188, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    18. Pinelopi K. Goldberg & Nina Pavcnik, 2004. "Trade, Inequality, and Poverty: What Do We Know? Evidence from Recent Trade Liberalization Episodes in Developing Countries," NBER Working Papers 10593, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Raymundo Campos-Vázquez & Nora Lustig & John Scott, 2018. "Inequality in Mexico: Labour markets and fiscal redistribution 1989–2014," WIDER Working Paper Series 188, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    20. Jorge Saba Arbache, 2001. "Trade Liberalisation and Labor Markets in Developing Countries: Theory and Evidence," Studies in Economics 0112, School of Economics, University of Kent.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:38:y:2010:i:6:p:803-813. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.