Economic Integration and Manufacturing Concentration Patterns: Evidence from MERCOSUR

Over the past two decades, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay have implemented unilateral trade liberalization programs and formed MERCOSUR. The effects of these reforms on production structures in these countries have not received a great deal of attention. This paper analyses patterns of relative manufacturing concentration in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay over the period 1985-1998. Our results indicate that localisation of demand and comparative advantages are the main driving forces of these patterns. The establishment of MERCOSUR has fostered the relative importance of factor endowments and production linkages in shaping the spatial distribution of manufacturing in the above three countries.