The seven contributions in this book examine the potential impact of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico on the U.S. economy. They cover such key aspects as the general sources of comparative advantage between Mexico and the U.S., regional and local effects on production and employment, and the effect on production in particular industries. The authors start from the premise that the trade agreement will have a small impact on the overall U.S. gross national product because the U.S. economy is large compared to that of Mexico and because there is already much unrestricted trade between the two countries. Several chapters consider how some sources of comparative advantage that cut across industries differential environmental regulations and wage differentials - may affect the outcome. These are followed by chapters that assess the locational effects on U.S. production, either from the viewpoint of which metropolitan areas will gain employment or of the scale effects-transportation cost-tradeoff. Concluding chapters address the effect of the NAFTA on several individual U.S. sectors such as agriculture, automobiles, and financial services. Peter M. Garber is Professor of Economics at Brown University. Contents: Introduction, Peter M. Garber. Environmental Impacts of a North American Free Trade Agreement, Gene M. Grossman, Alan B. Krueger. Wage Effects of a U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement, Edward E. Leamer. Some Favorable Impacts of a U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement, J. Vernon Henderson. Mexico- U.S. Free Trade and the Location of Production, Paul Krugman, Gordon Hanson. Trade with Mexico and Water Use in California Agriculture, Robert C. Feenstra, Andrew K. Rose. The Automobile Industry and the Mexico-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, Steven Barry, Vittorio Grilli, Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes. Opening the Financial Services Market in Mexico, Peter M. Garber, Steven R. Weisbrod.

Provides a source of information to those interested in the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Mexico has a population of about 111 million people, making it the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world. Contents of this report: (1) Intro.; (II) U.S.-Mexico Econ. Trends: Mexico-U.S. Bilateral Foreign Direct Invest.; Mexico¿s Export-Oriented Assembly Plants; Worker Remittances to Mexico; Security and Prosperity Partnership of N. Amer.; (3) The Mexican Economy: Economic Reforms; Effects of the Global Financial Crisis; Poverty; Regional Free Trade Agree.; (4) NAFTA and the U.S.-Mexico Econ. Relationship; (5) U.S.-Mexico Trade Relations: Trucking Issue: Truck Pilot Program; Mexico¿s Retaliatory Tariffs; Other Trade Issues; (6) Policy Issues. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand publication.