1995/12/01 by Joan B. Anderson, Denise Dimon
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth #Global trade and economics #Taxation and Compliance Studies
paper · doi:10.1016/0362-3319(95)90024-1
openalex publication_date 1995/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
This article addresses the effect of a more open market under NAFTA on the economic status of Mexican women. It is assumed that increases in export processing and tourism, industries that have a high demand for female labor, will result from the agreement. The approach of this study is to use regression and correlation analysis to compare wage and occupational differences in two Mexican cities: Tijuana, on the U.S.-Mexican border, and Torreon, in the interior. A major findings is that the overall wage gap is statistically significantly lower where there is increased export processing activity, but there appears to be very little change in occupational segregation. Three additional impacts are: first, that labor force participation rates increase for both men and women, but proportionally more for women. Second, the higher labor demand appears to weaken the relationship between the job qualifications of education and experience and wages. Third, wages by gender are more equal, but for the labor force as a whole there is a greater level of wage dispersion.