Apertura comercial y productividad en la industria manufacturera mexicana

In this paper I consider the effect of trade liberalization on total factor productivity (TFP) in the Mexican manufacturing industry, controlling for other determinants of TFP, such as foreign direct investment, workforce training and R&D expenditures. A panel regression is estimated with 9 cross sections corresponding to two-digit manufacturing classifications over 1980-1998. The estimation shows that an outwardoriented trade policy in the industry, has contributed to the expansion of total factor productivity. However, the TFP index suggests a moderation in manufacturing productivity growth in recent years.total factor productivity, trade liberalization