A comparative analysis of productivity in Brazilian and Mexican manufacturing industries

This article analyses productivity trends in Brazilian and Mexican manufacturing industries between 1995 and 2009, a period in which international competition intensified sharply. A total of 14 manufacturing industries are considered, using two methods based on: (i) the Leontief (1951) model to measure the consumption of intermediate goods used in production; and (ii) the analysis of total factor productivity (TFP). The studies performed show that manufacturing trends have diverged in the two countries. In Mexico, an increased need for imported goods and services was offset by a reduction in domestic goods and service requirements, and an increase in the TFP of production. In the case of Brazil, the fact that manufactured goods markets are more isolated from foreign trade seems to have contributed to a weak productivity performance.

Panorama da Inserção Internacional da América Latina e Caribe 2015. A crise do comércio regional: diagnóstico e perspectivas. Documento informativo

Apresentação .-- Síntese. A. A incerteza e o lento crescimento mundial exacerbam as debilidades da região. B. Espaços para obter uma maior diversificação do comércio e dos encadeamentos com a China. C. A América Latina e o Caribe devem avançar na agenda de facilitação do comércio.

Panorama de la Inserción Internacional de América Latina y el Caribe 2015. La crisis del comercio regional: diagnóstico y perspectivas

En la edición 2015 del Panorama de la Inserción Internacional de América Latina y el Caribe se analiza, desde la perspectiva del comercio, el contexto internacional y regional. Desde esa perspectiva, la región enfrenta el contexto económico internacional más desfavorable desde 2009. Más aún, la profundización de la especialización en recursos naturales durante el ciclo de altos precios y la persistencia de una estructura productiva con reducidas capacidades tecnológicas dificultan salir de la compleja coyuntura actual. En este marco, la CEPAL insta a los países a promover la integración económica regional, porque avanzar hacia un espacio integrado y con reglas comunes es indispensable para promover los encadenamientos productivos, aumentar la resiliencia del comercio intrarregional y favorecer la diversificación productiva y exportadora.