Resumo

JIMENEZ-GARCIA, Cecilia; LOPEZ-LIRA, Nidia; TOMTA, Danielle  e  PACHECO-OLVERA, Ana Lilia. Mexican economy competitiveness, results in the 1997-2007 period. Convergencia [online]. 2011, vol.18, n.56, pp.215-238. ISSN 2448-5799.

Competitiveness is a decisive variable in the economic and social development of a nation, it implies factors such as innovation, efficiency, productivity and quality; it is also influenced by other factors which have to do with the environment. Concerning the former factors, Mexico is a weak country mainly because it doesn't carry out enough technological innovation to create competitive advantages which lead to better levels of productivity, efficiency and quality. Regarding the environmental factors, the country exhibits deficiency in key sectors such as education, energy and transport, as a result of a macroeconomic unstable atmosphere. In the ranking of competitive countries of the Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad (IMCO), Mexico has lost positions during the last years, from the top of Latin America in 2004 to be in the last places of the list.

Palavras-chave : competitiveness; technological innovation; productivity; efficiency and quality approach.