Descripción:
This article studies the link between the inflow of remittances from international migrants and Mexico¿s regional growth in recent years. The results highlight the presence of a strong polarization in the regional behavior of the remittances/gdp ratio. The article also shows that this polarization is spatially associated with the economic growth of states. It specifically describes a recently observed process: a loss of dynamism in the growth of the remittances/gdp ratio within the region that has had a long history of migration and the presence of high growth rates in the remittances/ gdp ratio in much of southern Mexico. This suggests that remittances might be playing an anti-cyclical role. However, once we use an econometric spatial model to explain the states¿ economic growth, there is a lack of solid evidence indicating that remittances are contributing significantly to growth at the state level.