Importance of physical infrastructure in the economic growth of municipalities in the northern border

• Main Authors: Héctor Alonso Barajas Bustillos, Luis Gutiérrez Flores
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad Autonoma de Baja California 2012-01-01
• Series: Estudios Fronterizos
• Subjects: infraestructura; crecimiento económico; municipios; frontera norte; especialización industrial
• Online Access: http://ref.uabc.mx/ojs/index.php/ref/article/view/97
• ISSN: 0187-6961; 2395-9134

This paper evaluates the importance of infrastructure on economic growth for the Mexican northern border municipalities. From the growth literature, we know that infrastructure, besides other factors, has been pointed out as a key factor in the long run perspectives of regional growth. Nevertheless, and within this thematic context, works that use a disaggregated analysis down to the level of the municipality are still scarce, which in the case of the northern border constitutes a scenario of much relevance given the development model adopted by the Mexican economy in recent decades. Empirical models results indicate that the municipalities of Piedras Negras, Nogales and Torreon maintain a positive relationship between physical infrastructure and growth. In the case of other municipalities like Tijuana, its elevated population growth inhibits a proper infrastructure allocation, although the positive effect induced by infrastructure on growth remains.