Endogenous Skill Acquisition and Export Manufacturing in Mexico

66 Pages Posted: 3 Aug 2012 Last revised: 31 May 2023

See all articles by David Atkin

David Atkin

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics

Date Written: August 2012

Abstract

This paper presents empirical evidence that the growth of export manufacturing in Mexico during a period of major trade reforms, the years 1986-2000, altered the distribution of education. I use variation in the timing of factory openings across commuting zones to show that school dropout increased with local expansions in export manufacturing. The magnitudes I find suggest that for every twenty-five jobs created, one student dropped out of school at grade 9 rather than continuing through to grade 12. These effects are driven by less-skilled export-manufacturing jobs which raised the opportunity cost of schooling for students at the margin.

Suggested Citation

Atkin, David G., Endogenous Skill Acquisition and Export Manufacturing in Mexico (August 2012). NBER Working Paper No. w18266, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2123006

David G. Atkin (Contact Author)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics ( email )

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