The Maquiladora Industry and Migration in Mexico: A Survey of Literature

Abstract

AbstractI survey the literature, which analyzes the relationship between the maquiladora industry and migration in Mexico. The maquiladora industry is an export processing program, which has grown to become one of Mexico's most important economic activities. It was expanded from its birthplace along the United States–Mexico border to Mexico's interior states, partly to absorb surplus labor and deter migration. I divide the literature into three main categories dealing with internal migration, migration to the United States, and gender issues. I find that despite a wide range of methodological and theoretical perspectives, there are generally three views on the industry's effect on migration. The optimistic view credits the industry with curbing migration; the neutral view is cautious about the maquiladora industry's long‐term sustainability as a development project that can affect migration; and the pessimistic view blames the industry's development model for Mexico's economic problems and higher emigration rates. I conclude that more study is needed to update the existing work, and to demystify today's polarized political and economic rhetoric, especially in the United States, concerning the relationship between development and migration.