Economic Complexity and Regional Manufacturing Performance in Mexico, 2004–2019

Economic Complexity and Regional Manufacturing Performance in Mexico, 2004–2019 | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Economic Complexity and Regional Manufacturing Performance in Mexico, 2004–2019 Manuel Gómez-Zaldívar, Fernando Gómez-Zaldívar This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7041642/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The development of Mexico’s manufacturing sector has progressed unevenly across regions and industry groups, with the underlying causes varying over time. Using data from 2004 to 2019, we find that all Mexican regions experienced increased specialization and diversification. However, only those regions that shifted toward more complex manufacturing activities were able to expand their share of national manufacturing output. These findings underscore the critical role of industrial sophistication in shaping regional economic relevance. Consistent with prior research, our results highlight the importance of a clear and strategic industrial policy to support less dynamic regions. Such policy is essential for enabling structural transformation, fostering more balanced and inclusive economic growth, and overcoming persistent institutional and productive constraints that continue to hinder regional development. JEL Classification: L60, R11, R12 Development Economics Industry Groups Economic Complexity Mexico’s Municipalities Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7041642","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":480405225,"identity":"ef0dd53d-2ca4-4df1-a121-abe797ba45a5","order_by":0,"name":"Manuel Gómez-Zaldívar","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6526-8994","institution":"Universidad de Guanajuato","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Manuel","middleName":"","lastName":"Gómez-Zaldívar","suffix":""},{"id":480405226,"identity":"a21cf174-1061-4cdc-843d-e04961fb3b84","order_by":1,"name":"Fernando Gómez-Zaldívar","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAArElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBAC9gYgwfjPhgQtPAdAJFuaBMlaDpOihb338YsPPOfr+NkPsG7mIUoLz3EzyxkStyUkexLYbs4gRou9RBqbMY/BbQmDGwxsNz4QZYv8M6CWhHMS9iAtCURpkWBjfsxz4ICEgQTRtvCksTHObEiWnHEmsY04v/CwH2P+8LHBjp+//fCx20SFGBCwQeOEsYFIDQwMzET5YBSMglEwCkYwAABPYi0pWwxxQgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8103-8614","institution":"Tecnologico de Monterrey","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fernando","middleName":"","lastName":"Gómez-Zaldívar","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-03 23:04:31","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7041642/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7041642/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":86127821,"identity":"673b0bc7-1f14-41b4-978c-6dedea25e38f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-07 05:54:59","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":383483,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"EconomicComplexityandRegionalManufacturingPerformanceinMexico20042019.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7041642/v1_covered_99d6c436-6110-4c1c-8441-59d2d28397b4.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEconomic Complexity and Regional Manufacturing Performance in Mexico, 2004–2019\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Tecnologico de Monterrey","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Industry Groups, Economic Complexity, Mexico’s Municipalities","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7041642/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7041642/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe development of Mexico’s manufacturing sector has progressed unevenly across regions and industry groups, with the underlying causes varying over time. 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