Mexican wonder

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The Mexican miracle ( Spanish milagro mexicano ) describes the economic development of Mexico from the 1940s to the 1970s. During this phase Mexico had very high economic growth averaging 6% per year, and a significant industrial sector emerged. An increase in per capita income of 3% per year during this period resulted in a considerable increase in prosperity, which was also reflected in an increase in the average life expectancy of the population from 41.5 years in 1940 to 61.9 years in 1970 . The phase was characterized by political and social stability and an economic policy of import-substituting industrialization within the framework of structuralist economic policy .

history

Between the 1920s and 1940s, access to primary education in Mexico expanded to such an extent that three times as many children attended primary school as before that time. Based on the recommendations of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ( ECLAC ), a structuralist economic policy was pursued under the title of stabilizing development ( desarrollo estabilizador ) . The economic policy included u. a. that the Mexican state was promoting the expansion of important economic sectors such as petrochemicals, steel production and mechanical engineering through public investments where not enough private investments were available. This created an economic order that encompasses both planned economy and market economy elements. As a result of the import-substituting industrialization, Mexico developed from an agricultural state to an emerging country in which industrial production covered its own needs for steel, consumer goods and important petrochemical products. In fiscal policy, the aim was to control inflation and a stable exchange rate in order to keep capital flight to a minimum. The policy of import-substituting industrialization caused a strong urbanization process . Since the industrial sector grew by 240% during this phase, many people moved from rural areas to the cities to work there. The increase in welfare can also be seen from the development of life expectancy. In 1940 the average life expectancy was 41.5 years, in 1970 it was 61.9 years.

However, since the 1980s, the model fell into economic and political crisis. The high national debt, "the excessive role of the state in the economy and the political clumsiness" of the de facto one-party rule of the PRI led to increased pressure on the ruling elite to allow an economic and social opening. The agreement on a structural adjustment program with the IMF on November 10, 1982 brought about a turn in economic policy towards the Washington Consensus , which is also reflected in the accession to international agreements such as GATT and NAFTA . Since the end of the import-substituting economic policy, Mexico has developed into a successful export nation: in 1980 the export quota was only 12.8 percent of GDP, almost exclusively oil. In 2005 exports accounted for 29.9 percent of GDP, the majority of which were industrially produced finished products. The Mexican industry has thus become part of the integrated North American domestic market. Since the 1980s, however, Mexico has experienced restrained economic development and growing social tensions in other sectors. Between 1991 and 2004 the employable population grew by 1.1. Millions, but the number of jobs subject to social security only grew by 336,875. Despite the relatively low economic growth since the 1980s, economists like Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman do not necessarily see trade liberalization as a mistake. Most economists attribute the relatively low growth to other factors, such as the population's low level of education.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Sarah Babb, Managing Mexico, Economists from Nationalism to Neoliberalism , Princeton University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-691-11793-4 , page 79
  2. ↑ a b Gerhard Sommerhoff, Christian Weber, Mexico, Wissenschaftliche Länderkunden , Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1999, ISBN 9783534028603 , page 164, table 17
  3. ^ A b c Daniel Weiß, Economic and Sociopolitical Performance of the Mexican State , 1st edition 2007, GRIN Verlag, ISBN 978-3-640-16758-6 , page 13
  4. ^ Richard Easterlin : Why Isn't the Whole World Developed? In: The Journal of Economic History. Vol. 41 No. 1, 1981, Appendix Table 1.
  5. ^ Sarah Babb: Managing Mexico, Economists from Nationalism to Neoliberalism. Princeton University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-691-11793-4 , pp. 75-77.
  6. ↑ Maria Teresa Vezquez Castillo, Country Privatization in Mexico , Routledge, 2004, ISBN 0-415-94654-9 , page 60
  7. ^ Günther Maihold: Mexico - Perspectives of change after the historical change of government. in: German Society for Foreign Policy (ed.): Yearbook for international politics 1999/2000 . Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-486-56572-9 , pp. 347-355
  8. ^ Paul Krugman: International Economy. Theory and Politics of Foreign Trade. Pearson, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-8273-7361-8 , p. 346.
  9. ^ Federal Agency for Civic Education : Dossier Latin America: Marianne Braig, Political History of Mexico
  10. ^ Paul Krugman: International Economy. Theory and Politics of Foreign Trade. Pearson, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-8273-7361-8 , p. 346.