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Industrial activity in Mexico as a factor in development plays a key role in regional growth. The aim of this paper is to analyze manufacturing in the state of Zacatecas through the 21 Subsectors in NAICS in 1998 and 2003. Coefficients of localization, export and specialization were constructed, revealing high levels of concentration in a few activities as well as a significant trend of regional specialization in a few manufacturing industries. Lastly, decomposing the growth factors with the Shift-share analysis shows that the regional component has contributed most to the growth of manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After assessing Sonora's industrialization, this paper explores whether, during the period from 1993 to 2003, its municipalities have tended towards a greater or lesser differentiation in their added manufacturing value, and whether this pattern has been influenced by the criteria for geographical allocation of state investment in infrastructure. It uses this information to review the policies that in theory, should serve as a counterweight to regional disparities. It concludes that, although the rate of municipal convergence in Sonora is relatively high, it has tended to decline. It also confirms the state's limited capacity to use its resources, to influence the regional pattern of manufacturing development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the effects of labor productivity, the actual exchange rate and other variables on the manufacturing industry's international competitiveness (IC) during a twelve-year period: 1996-2008. To this end, we construct an IC index and estimate two generalized VAR models. The empirical evidence suggests that labor productivity influences IC to a greater extent than actual exchange rate depreciation. Furthermore, manufacturing IC increases when unit labor costs decrease; that is, when labor productivity grows faster than wages. In this way, an integral package of policy measures designed to stimulate productivity of workers may be more effective in increasing manufacturing IC than actual currency depreciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]