Curriculum Mexico's Economy
Mexico's Economy
Mexico's economic journey: the mid-century "miracle", the 1982 debt crisis and lost decade, border maquiladoras, Pemex and oil, remittances, informality, the Progresa cash transfer experiment, Carlos Slim's telecom empire, nearshoring, the cost of cartel violence and lessons for India.
- Mexico at a Glance An overview of Mexico's economy - size, industries, ties to the United States and its position as a large middle-income country. 📄 Read-aloud
- The Mexican Miracle How Mexico grew rapidly from the 1940s to 1970 through import substitution, state investment and stable prices, and why the model ran out of steam. 📄 Read-aloud
- The 1982 Debt Crisis and the Lost Decade How falling oil prices and rising US interest rates led Mexico to default in 1982, triggering the Latin American debt crisis and a decade of stagnation. 📄 Read-aloud
- Maquiladoras: Border Factories How Mexico's maquiladora programme created export factories near the US border from 1965, their role in jobs and trade, and criticisms about wages and conditions. 📄 Read-aloud
- Pemex and Mexico's Oil How Mexico nationalised oil in 1938, how Pemex funded the government, and why it became one of the world's most indebted oil companies. 📄 Read-aloud
- Remittances from the United States How millions of Mexicans working in the US send home over 60 billion dollars a year, their role in poorer states, and the effects of US immigration policy. 📄 Read-aloud
- Mexico's Economy: Checkpoint 1 Quick checkpoint - five questions on Mexico's economy, the Mexican Miracle, the 1982 crisis, maquiladoras and Pemex. 5 questions
- Mexico's Informal Economy Why over half of Mexican workers are informal, how economist Santiago Levy argued social programmes worsened it, and parallels with India. 📄 Read-aloud
- Progresa: Paying Families to Send Children to School How Mexico's 1997 Progresa programme paid poor mothers cash if children attended school and health check-ups, how its randomised evaluation proved its effects, and how it spread worldwide. 📄 Read-aloud
- Carlos Slim and the Telecom Monopoly How Carlos Slim bought state telecom company Telmex in 1990 and built a near-monopoly, how the OECD estimated its costs to Mexicans, and the 2013 reforms. 📄 Read-aloud
- Nearshoring: Mexico's Opportunity How US companies moved supply chains from China to Mexico after 2018, the boom in northern industrial parks, and constraints like water, power and security. 📄 Read-aloud
- Cartels, Violence and the Economy How drug cartels and violence impose costs on Mexico's economy through extortion, lost investment and security spending, and what research estimates. 📄 Read-aloud
- Lessons from Mexico What Mexico's experience teaches about trade integration, privatisation, social policy and institutions, and a recap of the module. 📄 Read-aloud