Government-Business Relations and Regional Development in Post-Reform Mexico

This book explores the political economy of subnational development in Mexico. Like much of Latin America, Mexico underwent market reforms and democratization in the late 20th century. In addition to transforming national institutions, these changes led to sharp political and economic divergence among Mexican states. The author offers a novel explanation for these uneven results, showing how relations between local governments and organized business gave rise to distinct subnational institutions for managing the economy. The argument is developed through a paired comparison of two states in central Mexico, Puebla, and Querétaro. This work will be of interest to students of Latin American and Mexican politics, regional development, and government-business relations. Theodore Kahn is Visiting Scholar in the Latin American Studies Program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, USA.

Auteur
Theodore Kahn is Visiting Scholar in the Latin American Studies Program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, USA.

Contenu

1. Introduction

1.1. Why Puebla and Querétaro?

1.1.1. Initial Conditions

1.1.2. Economic Divergence between Puebla and Querétaro

1.2. Research Design and Methodology

1.2.1. Comparing Subnational Economies

1.3. Relevance for Mexico and Beyond: Theory and Practice 1.4. Plan of the Book 2. Governing Subnational Economies

2.1. The Territorial Dimension of Economic and Political Reform

2.1.1. Local Responses to Economic Reforms

2.1.2. Localization and Globalization in the World Economy 2.2. Institutions and Development

2.2.1. Business as a Political Actor

2.2.2. Varieties of Capitalism

2.3. A Subnational View of Political Institutions and Development

2.3.1. Less Stateness

2.3.2. Focus on Firms

2.3.3. The (diminishing) Role of Labor

2.3.4. National Reforms as Existential Threat

2.4. The Argument 2.4.1. Differences in the Private Sector

2.4.2. Differences in Organized Labor

2.4.3. Governors' Responses to National-level Reform

2.4.4. Subnational Institutional Divergence and its Economic Consequences

2.5. Alternative Explanations

3. Origins and Consequences of Divergent Private Sector Organization in Puebla and Querétaro

3.1. Organized Business in Mexico

3.1.1. Reconfiguration of Government-Business Relations

3.1.2. Government-Business Relations in the States

3.2. Explaining Business Sector Divergence in Puebla and Querétaro 3.2.1. Economic Change

3.2.2. Effects on Business Associations

3.2.3. Explaining the Participation (or not) of Large Firms

3.3. Preferences of Local Business in Puebla and Querétaro

3.3.1. Political or Economic Opinions

3.3.2. Preferences on Economic Issues

3.3.3. Unity or Division in the Private Sector 3.4. Conclusions

4. Building Institutions for Cooperation in Querétaro, 1979-1991

4.1. Unlikely Origins of Global Economic Success: Querétaro under Rafael Camacho Guzmán 4.1.1. A New Business Class

4.1.2. Emergence of Tripartite Cooperation

4.1.3. Institutionalizing Coordination to Manage Economic Shocks

4.1.4. Political Calm Prevails

4.2. Results of the Camacho Guzmán Administration

4.3. Preparing for Global Competitiveness: Querétaro under Mariano Palacios Alcocer 4.3.1. Local Adjustment to Global Integration<...