--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-30/productivity-in-mexico-trends-drivers-and-institutional-framework/" title: "Productivity in Mexico: Trends, Drivers, and Institutional Framework" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:40:49+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:40:49+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2016" ipm_keyword: - "factor misallocation" - "informality" - "KLEMS" - "Latin America" - "Mexico" - "MFP" - "National productivity commission" - "productivity" - "structural reform" ipm_research_theme: - "Policy and institutions" ipm_country_focus: - "Latin America" - "Mexico" - "OECD" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Productivity in Mexico: Trends, Drivers, and Institutional Framework Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-30/productivity-in-mexico-trends-drivers-and-institutional-framework/ # Productivity in Mexico: Trends, Drivers, and Institutional Framework [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-30-2-Cordova-Padilla.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Córdova, José Ernesto López, and Juan Rebolledo Márquez Padilla. 2016. “Productivity in Mexico: Trends, Drivers, and Institutional Framework.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 30 (Spring 2016): 28–42. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-30/productivity-in-mexico-trends-drivers-and-institutional-framework/ ## Authors: - José Ernesto López Córdova Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, Mexico - Juan Rebolledo Márquez Padilla Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, Mexico ## IPM Issue 30 Spring 2016 pp. 28–42 ## Related IPM articles [The Relationship between Efficiencies Defenses for Mergers and TFP Growth Robin Shaban Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 82–102](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-relationship-between-efficiencies-defenses-for-mergers-and-tfp-growth/) [Adult Skills and Productivity: New Evidence from PIAAC 2023 Dan Andrews, Balázs Égert, Christine de La Maisonneuve Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 41–63](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/adult-skills-and-productivity-new-evidence-from-piaac-2023/) [The Potential Impact of Pro-competitive Regulatory Reforms on Productivity and Growth in Canada Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 3–40](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-potential-impact-of-pro-competitive-regulatory-reforms-on-productivity-and-growth-in-canada/) [Appendix: UK Productivity Growth Rates Across Data Vintages and Studies Josh Martin Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 65–73](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/appendix-uk-productivity-growth-rates-across-data-vintages-and-studies/) [Opportunities and Risks of Artificial Intelligence for Productivity Francesco Filippucci, Peter Gal, Katharina Laengle, Matthias Schief, Filiz Unsal Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 1–26](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/opportunities-and-risks-of-artificial-intelligence-for-productivity/) [Using Ecosystem Accounting to Integrate the Environment in Measures of Multifactor Productivity Carl Obst Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 87–108](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/using-ecosystem-accounting-to-integrate-the-environment-in-measures-of-multifactor-productivity/) [Eroding Natural Capital: An Alternative Explanation for the Secular Decline in Productivity Growth Christina Caron Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 109–147](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/eroding-natural-capital-an-alternative-explanation-for-the-secular-decline-in-productivity-growth/) [Climate Change and Productivity — An Exploration Dirk Pilat Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 54–86](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/climate-change-and-productivity-an-exploration/) [How Does Industrial Policy Impact Output, Hours and Productivity? The Canadian Experience Tim Sargent Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 39–53](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/how-does-industrial-policy-impact-output-hours-and-productivity-the-canadian-experience/) [Could Domestic Industrial Policies, Even With Global Fragmentation, Revive Productivity? Catherine Mann Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 3–19](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/could-domestic-industrial-policies-even-with-global-fragmentation-revive-productivity/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn Over the past three decades, economic growth in Mexico has been lackluster, with declining multifactor productivity as the main culprit. Mexico’s growth malaise stems not only from existing barriers to the productivity of labour and capital, but also, to a large extent, from a misallocation of both inputs. This is epitomized by a large informal labour market and by a financially-underserved private sector. Factor misallocation has generated large productivity gaps between sectors and regions. In particular, a process of structural transformation that mobilizes resources toward high-productivity activities has unfolded slowly. To spur economic growth, the Mexican Government has placed productivity at the center of the policy agenda, not only by enacting a wide array of productivity-enhancing structural reforms, but also by establishing an institutional framework conducive to the design and implementation of public policies that address existing bottlenecks. ONE OF THE CURRENT conundrums in Au cours des trois dernières décennies, la croissance économique au Mexique a été terne, la baisse de la productivité multifactorielle étant le principal coupable. Le malaise de croissance du Mexique provient non seulement des obstacles existants à la productivité du travail et du capital, mais aussi, dans une large mesure, d’une mauvaise allocation de ces deux facteurs. Cela se traduit par un grand marché du travail informel et un secteur privé sous-financé. La mauvaise allocation des facteurs a engendré de grands écarts de productivité entre les secteurs et les régions. En particulier, un processus de transformation structurelle qui mobilise les ressources vers des activités à haute productivité s’est déroulé lentement. Pour stimuler la croissance économique, le gouvernement mexicain a placé la productivité au centre de son programme de politiques. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-30-2-Cordova-Padilla.pdf)