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Agglomeration and the location choice of foreign direct investment: new evidence from manufacturing FDI in Mexico

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  • Jacob A. Jordaan

    (Free University of Amsterdam)

Abstract

In this paper, I estimate conditional logit location models to identify the regional characteristics that influenced the location choice of the large influx of manufacturing FDI into Mexico that occurred in the second half of the 1990s following the creation of NAFTA. The main findings of the analysis are three-fold. First, regional demand, labor costs, labor quality, agglomeration economies and regional distance to Mexico City and the US are all important location factors. Second, findings indicate that the location decision of export-oriented firms is not affected by regional demand. Third, I find evidence that agglomeration economies have a spatial dimension.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacob A. Jordaan, 2012. "Agglomeration and the location choice of foreign direct investment: new evidence from manufacturing FDI in Mexico," Estudios Económicos, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos, vol. 27(1), pages 61-97.
    • Handle: RePEc:emx:esteco:v:27:y:2012:i:1:p:61-97
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    4. López Noria Gabriela & Zamudio Fernández Juan José, 2018. "The Effect of Uncertainty on Foreign Direct Investment: the Case of Mexico," Working Papers 2018-03, Banco de México.
    5. Cabral Torres René & Alvarado Jorge, 2019. "Manufacturing Exports Determinants across Mexican States, 2007-2015," Working Papers 2019-11, Banco de México.
    6. Llamosas-Rosas Irving & Fonseca Felipe J., 2018. "Determinants of FDI Attraction in the Manufacturing Sector in Mexico, 1999-2015," Working Papers 2018-07, Banco de México.
    7. René Cabral & Jorge Alberto Alvarado, 2021. "The Role of FDI on Exports Performance: Evidence from the Mexican States," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 44(6), pages 684-708, November.
    8. Tripathi, Sabyasachi & Kumar, Shamika, 2016. "Determinants of firm location choice in metropolitan cities in India: A binary Logit model analysis," MPRA Paper 73995, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    FDI; location; agglomeration; conditional logit; nested Logit; Mexico;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O54 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Latin America; Caribbean
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

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