The role of merchandise exports to Mexico in the pattern of Texas employment

In 1987, Texas exported $25 billion worth of merchandise to foreign countries. Twenty-six percent, or $6.5 billion, of those exports went south to Mexico. By 1994, Texas merchandise exports to Mexico had grown to more than $18.5 billion per year (in 1987 constant dollars). Texas merchandise exports to Mexico (in real terms) have grown more than 10 percent a year for six of the last seven years. ; Using input-output analysis, Kelly George and Lori Taylor find that merchandise exports to Mexico, while representing only about 5 percent of Texas output, have grown in ways that have substantially influenced the composition of the state's economy. The authors attribute a small portion of the state's overall job gains since 1987 to rising merchandise exports to Mexico but find that almost all Texas employment growth in high-tech manufacturing sectors stems from trade with Mexico.