Calculation of Complexity Indices for Mexico: Proposal for a more periodic and robust estimation Cálculo de los Índices de Complejidad en México: Propuesta para una estimación más periódica y robusta Academic Article in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) and Product Complexity Index (PCI), proposed by Hidalgo and Hausmann (2009), are measures that quantify the sophistication of productive knowledge that economies (industries) posses (require to produce). These indexes have been frequently used in the economic geography and economic development literature for the optimal design of industrial strategies. In the original study, these authors calculated these measures for countries and products using data on the value of their exports. Since then, various studies have estimated them at the subnational level using other variables such as: employment, patents, technologies, salaries, etc. This article presents a proposal for a more periodic and robust estimation of the indices in Mexico using a different variable, the number of establishments or economic units by type of activity, this variable is obtained from the National Statistical Directory of Economic Units (DENUE, its Spanish acronym). The results are consistent, both for municipalities and for industries, and present a better fit compared to those of previous studies. We consider that our proposal is pertinent because it allows for the design and more periodic evaluation of industrial strategies and subnational public policies in the area of economic development. © 2024 by the authors.

publication date

  • January 1, 2024