Outsourcing and urban decentralization: spatial analysis of advanced producer services in the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara

Abstract

Using an adaptation of the traditional Gini index in spatial autocorrelation models and the analysis of thematic cartography, this article aims to show that there is uncertainty about the spatial patterns found in the outsourcing process of Latin American cities, understanding that certain economic activities in this sector break with the typical center-periphery layouts and take advantage of territorial capacities to establish autonomous production environments. When analyzing different Advanced Producer Services sectors in the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara, in Mexico, it was seen that there is a reduced presence of medium to large-sized businesses, which leads to the limited construction of production agglomerations outside the main city center. However, a relational analysis of the space leads one to consider that apart from showing a predilection for the urban west, there are services that in their strategic role could provide the basis for the future development of clusters in this city.