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Cross-Border Shopping And Employment Patterns In The Southwestern United States, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Adam G. Walke

Departmental Papers (E & F)

Price differentials, among other factors, persuade many residents of Northern Mexico to shop in the Southwestern United States border region. Employment patterns in the latter region are studied using a set of control variables and two indicators that are likely to influence crossborder shopping patterns. The first is a real exchange rate index, which captures changes in relative prices in the United States and Mexico. The second is real per capita gross state product in Mexican states adjacent to the international boundary. Both of these variables are found to impact retail and restaurant employment in the United States border zone, …