Regional Integration and Productivity: The Experiences of Brazil and Mexico

BID-Intal-ITD-STA Working Paper No. 14

59 Pages Posted: 28 Jul 2003

See all articles by Mauricio Mesquita Moreira

Mauricio Mesquita Moreira

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) - Regional Integration

Ernesto Lopez Cordova

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

Date Written: July 2003

Abstract

What is the impact of integration on productivity? What are the main channels? Is there anything specific about productivity effects in regional agreements? This paper tries to answer these questions by looking at the experience of Brazil and Mexico. We estimate firm-level productivity and test its causal links with trade and FDI variables. The results suggest strong trade related gains, with import discipline emerging as the dominant effect. The results on learning-by-exporting were mixed, with gains restricted to Brazil's regional and worldwide exports. On FDI, foreign firms appear to have had a positive impact on their buyers and suppliers in Mexico, but in Brazil, the overall impact was statistically insignificant on productivity levels and negative on productivity growth.

Keywords: Trade, productivity, Brazil, Mexico

JEL Classification: F1, O1

Suggested Citation

Mesquita Moreira, Mauricio and Lopez-Cordova, Ernesto, Regional Integration and Productivity: The Experiences of Brazil and Mexico (July 2003). BID-Intal-ITD-STA Working Paper No. 14, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=422480 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.422480

Mauricio Mesquita Moreira (Contact Author)

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) - Regional Integration ( email )

1300 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20577
United States
202-6233931 (Phone)

Ernesto Lopez-Cordova

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) ( email )

1300 New York Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20577
United States

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