Government-Business Relations and Regional Development in Post-Reform Mexico

Reviews / Votes

"For much of the past four decades, economic growth in Mexico has been disappointing, even after controlling macroeconomic instability in the 1980s and early 1990s, and after introducing a host of reforms in later years. Within Mexico, however, one finds intriguing contrasts, with some states that have been able to set off on a dynamic economic course. Theodore Kahn takes advantage of the variation in economic performance across Mexican states to shed new light on the reasons behind the country's low growth. In this book, the author discusses how the dynamics of government-business relations, based on a careful comparative analysis of two states, shape economic outcomes. He finds that institutional arrangements that facilitate public-private collaboration and guarantee policy continuity across political cycles is a key element of success. While Kahn's focus is on local economic performance, the lessons he derives have a wider reach and offer a key lesson for Mexico at large and, indeed, for developing countries more broadly." (Ernesto López-Córdova, Practice Manager for Industry Solutions, the World Bank Group, and former Head of the Economic Productivity Unit, Mexico's Ministry of Finance, Mexico)