PROCESSES OF ECONOMIC CHANGE AND DIVERSIFICATION IN THE MEXICAN ECONOMY: A CASE STUDY OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY, C.1982-2014

Abstract: A central debate within the field of Economic History and Growth studies is the effect trade liberalization has on the long-term growth of an economy. One radical switch in the foundation of an economy is from Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) to Trade Liberalization. Mexico is one of the economies that have undergone this transformation since the early 1980s. This paper makes an attempt to identify possible effects of trade liberalization within the aspect of skill and knowledge accumulation as a potential for innovativeness in the domestic economy. Cohesively the findings in this thesis indicate that the industrialization process of the Mexican economy has, due to the effects of trade liberalization, to a greater extent the character of a concealed economic process. However, several indicators point at possible policy improvements that can yield to a greater extent a process of unrestrained forms of development. Key words: Mexico, Import Substitution, skills, knowledge, automotive industry, Dependency, Structural Change