ABSTRACT
The analysis, diagnosis and monitoring of metropolitan areas’ economic performance are essential for urban planning and the formulation of territorial development strategies. Based on data from economic censuses, the National Survey of Occupation and Employment and poverty estimations, this chapter presents a large-scale assessment of the dynamics and spatial patterns of economic performance in Mexico’s metropolitan areas. Indicators of the geographic distribution of economic activity, productivity and economic efficiency specialisation, poverty levels and informal employment are analysed. Economic activity is very unevenly distributed across Mexico’s urban system, with a significant geographical concentration of production in the largest metropolitan areas: Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara. The import substitution industrialisation (ISI) model implemented between the 1940s and the 1970s created a centralised spatial pattern in which Mexico City Metropolitan Area became the heart of the national economy. Although shifts in macroeconomic policies have had an impact on Mexico’s economic geography, the spatial relocation of production did not modify rank of the largest metropolitan areas. Leaving aside the significant inter-metropolitan variation in economic performance, overall metropolitan areas are characterised by high informality, high poverty rates, decreasing productivity and specialisation in traditional industrial sectors.
