Background:

This exercise has estimated economic competitiveness for the 32 federal states of Mexico for 2013. The exercise was made in previous article with 2003 and 2008 data.

Method:

We take 81 activities that represent more than 96% of total GNP in 2013 and we calculated competitiveness based on two dimensions: labor productivity and wages. With a cluster analysis it is possible to group two types of Mexican states: the competitive states and non competitive states.

Results:

There are two types of Mexican states. The 13 competitive states are more diversified and show higher levels of both productivity and wages. They are also better integrated to the international economy, and comprise mostly industrial mature states such as Nuevo León, Central Mexico (Ciudad de México, Querétaro, Estado de México), Jalisco and other Border states. More recently also Guanajuato and San Luis Potosí in central Mexico. For the other 19 states, the lack of productivity is compensated through lower salaries. These include Southern and Southeastern states, and most in the lower Pacific coast.

Conclusions:

These conditions have remained the same over the recent years. In short, we can not expect convergence merely by the effect of time, in despite that two states of the Bajio region reached now the competitive group.