Roman, Belinda
(2003)
Ciudad Juarez-El Paso, the formation of a cross-border market: Mexico-U.S. economic relations in perspective, 1840s-1920s.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
This thesis will demonstrate that C. Juarez, Chihuahua-El Paso, Texas have operated as a cross-border market since the nineteenth century. As a consequence of this, it may be inferred that economic integration between Mexico and the United States of America (U.S.) is a historical process that also begins in the nineteenth century. This positions challenges the conventional academic wisdom that integration, in this case, is primarily a post-World War II phenomenon. The study uses economic integration theory as a new way of conceptualising the Mexico-U.S. borderlands. The fundamental premise is that factor mobility and the formation of a distinct, unified regional market underpin the integration process. A case study of the C. Juarez-El Paso, Texas border area between the 1820s and the 1920s is used to examine the complex nature of the interchanges between the two countries. The analysis is divided into eight chapters, with the major analytical chapters focussing on the ability of the factors of production (entrepreneurs, capital and labour) and goods to move freely throughout the region. The two key assumptions are that the C. Juarez- El Paso area possesses a common transportation infrastructure and resource base. The study of entrepreneurs is based on qualitative material taken from travel diaries, government documents and business records. The work of Chandler and Casson is utilised to show the similarities in activities and organisational structure across the border. The formation of a cross-border labour market is applied to low wage, low skill workers and evidence for regional wage rates is gleaned primarily from the work of Clark and Gamio on Mexican labour in the U.S. Southwest. The financial aspects of entrepreneurial activities are used as a proxy for capital movements. The sources include notarial and business records. Finally, the intensification of trade between Mexico and the U.S. due to specialisation at the border is examined. Data is taken from numerous sources, including contemporary accounts and U.S. government documents.
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