City Analysis Assignment: Tijuana, Mexico

The city of Tijuana, Mexico, is located immediately south of the United States/Mexico border on the east coast. As a 2010 census discovered, Tijuana is the 5th largest city in Mexico with a current population estimated at 1,784,034. Therefore, Tijuana should be classified as a Regional Metropolis in terms of the Central Place Theory, although some could also consider it a Regional City.

Tijuana, a very popular destination, offers a wide variety of services that would not be found in smaller places such as towns or villages. Although a substantial amount of poverty does exist within the Tijuana area, recently there has been an increase in affluence throughout the region. There is a surprising number of banks, clubs, restaurants, shops, and other popular establishments such as a country club and complex citywide services. Tijuana offers all sorts of public transportation, including an airport. The city, however, lacks a port. In a smaller, and less popular region, the majority of the establishments and services in Tijuana would not be offered. In less densely populated areas, the amount of places such as these is decreased, with the focus primarily on necessities such as the occasional bank, mail center, or grocery store. However, Tijuana doesn't compare to Mexico City (the nation's federal capital) which is home to many government services.

Mexico: A Disconnect Between the Labor Market and Higher Education

News Summary
Link to original article: click here (Huffington Post)

Throughout Latin America, and Mexico especially, there is sufficient evidence that points to a 'growing disconnect' between the skills that are taught in schools and the knowledge required in the market of labor. As stated by Ernesto Garcia, "there is no doubt that the supply and demand market for skills is not working efficiently." 

Individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 are currently facing unemployment rates that are unbelievably high, especially compared to the country's overall unemployment rate of approximately 4.9% (CIA World Factbook Unemployment Data). 

Unfortunately, even those that have graduated from university are met with this problem. It's been reported that less than half (about 40%) of all university graduates are actually hired into jobs within their field of study. The remaining 60% of graduates are either unemployed or choose to work in jobs that don't require higher education. 

This phenomenon, the inefficiency of supply and demand for the labor market, could potentially have arisen due to the simple lack of job availability in Mexico and the surrounding countries. However, it is more probably due to the 'obsolete' nature of the education system. There is little to no connection between the skills required in the labor market and those taught in school. 

In order to repair this disconnect, the fundamental principles of the education system in Mexico should focus more on specific labor market skills instead of earning degrees. Data needs to be compiled regarding the nature of the knowledge required in the current labor market and, more specifically, the firms in the private sector. This data should be used to compile an improved collection of school curriculum.

Overall, this is a worrisome phenomenon but has the potential to be easily reversible. If the fundamental changes are put into action, the improved results will surely be noticeable over time.

"Junkyard Planet" by Adam Minter -- chapter 5 response

Throughout recent years, the industrial sectors of both India and China have seen substantial growth. However, a staggering majority of scrap metal from the United States is shipped to China, as opposed to India. In the year 2000, China was responsible for the majority of all the world's scrap metal and paper imports. This is due to a variety of factors, including shipping costs. While cheap labor and relaxed regulation standards do play a part in the overwhelmingly sized industry of Chinese scrap metal and paper imports, these were not the most important factors. Although labor is cheaper in India and more pricey in China, the Chinese shipping price is much more cost-effective than the price for comparable transportation services in India. This lower shipping price is due to the backhaul phenomenon. The term 'backhaul' is defined as the return trip a container ship makes after it has deposited it's cargo at the primary destination. Since this is a trip that must be made regardless of whether or not the containers are full or empty (of cargo), shipping companies can charge discounted rates. While these discounted rates are attractive to the shipping service's potential customers, they are even more beneficial to the shipping service company. Since the container ships will be making this trip no matter what, the goods can be shipped with virtually no added transportation cost. This phenomenon is especially important to the Chinese imports industry. Since China is known to export much more than it imports (90% to 10%), it capitalizes on backhaul by importing extremely high volumes of both scrap metal and paper/cardboard products. In the words of Adam Minter, the "U.S. demand for Chinese goods means that a paper mill in southern China can outcompete a Chicago area paper mill for a shipping container of old newspapers in Los Angeles. That's the power of the backhaul - and American demand for Chinese-manufactured goods."

Throughout history there have been countless complications and issues that have sprung up as a result of globalization. In 'Junkyard Planet', when discussing the backhaul phenomenon, the author notes that backhaul is important for global waste reduction. Considering the exportation of food and other goods from India to other countries in the Middle East, the containers are usually empty on their return trip. This lack of backhaul is because the Middle East doesn't have anything in particular to fill these empty containers with. This correlates to the amount of waste within Middle Eastern countries. In fact, those in the Middle East are much more wasteful than Americans, per capita. Globalization has promoted worldwide connections, but can often produce extra waste and avoid focus on localization. 

Modern transportation is easily relatable to the themes in "Why Did Human History Unfold Differently On Different Continents For The Last 13,000 Years?" by Jared Diamond. In Diamond's text, he states that the varying technological levels of cultures across the world are what eventually contributed to the colonization of America and other areas. In today's time period, modern transportation technology is what separates some civilizations from others. While some countries are obviously much more successful than others in terms of transportation, the societies that lack this technology are seemingly not as prosperous. 

The World the Box Made (Marc Levinson)

The shipping container has revolutionized the world. As stated by Marc Levinson, author of The World the Box Made, "the container is at the core of a highly automated system for moving goods from anywhere, to anywhere, with a minimum of cost and complication on the way." This statement couldn't be more true. Before the invention of the shipping container, the speed of modern day transportation of goods was nowhere near today's unfathomable rate of speed.

In chapter one of "The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger" by Marc Levinson, a particularly interesting section is at the beginning. At the start of the first chapter, Levinson discusses the world's first experience with shipping containers. In April of 1956, the first shipping containers were aboard a tanker named the Ideal-X bound from New Jersey to Texas. While there were only 58 aluminum containers on this journey, this first trial run using containers bound for trucks was revolutionary. It's fascinating to note that this particular journey was one of the first successes for a container ship. Before 1956, the world's methods of shipping were very different from today's and not nearly as efficient.

Author Marc Levinson states that the development of the shipping container was revolutionary and an important contribution to globalization. It's interesting that the container, when fully developed, seemingly destroyed the old shipping-based economy. However, this destruction of the old fashioned methods and economy paved the way for a new economy to be constructed. While the old ports declined abruptly, many new ports were rapidly established. In addition to these new ports, "this new economic geography [stemming from the development of better shipping methods, i.e. containers] allowed firms whose ambitions had been purely domestic to be come international companies, exporting their products almost as effortlessly as selling them nearby." In fact, firms who wanted to remain domestic were actually forced to move international simply because the global market was coming right to their proverbial doorstep. Additionally, the development of the container contributed to globalization by drastically increasing the amount of and speed at which the goods can be transported.

Personally, I believe that there is much more to be gained than lost by the development of the shipping container. While those involved in the old-fashioned shipping markets were replaced by the modern port system, the overall gains are evident in modern society. The world gains variety in goods that can be exported worldwide, while the previously utilized shipping employees may be at a loss for work. Even though there are some individuals who lost jobs due to the development of containers, the world improved overall. Specifically, those employed by firms responsible for international trade will benefit a great deal. 

Mexico: Recent News Summary

               Before Wednesday, April 24th, the Mexican government appeared to be pushing for a new ruling that would limit and censor the use of the internet and telecommunications throughout Mexico. On the 24th, the day following the end of anti-censorship protesting riddled with conflict in Mexico City, the government 'stepped away' from the proposal. While this proposal was supposedly drawn up for the simple purpose of improving public safety standards, many aspects were controversial. An especially protested aspect of the proposed ruling was the internet blocking capabilities it possessed. It would allowed the government to block the signals of most civilian telecommunications at any time.
               This proposed bill, if passed, could affect the economy in Mexico. While most protesters of this ruling are against the censorship and limited-speech aspects of the proposal, constant and free communication is crucial to the flow of the market system. As is evident throughout history, all markets rely on the prompt communication of the parties involved. With communication being restricted, in this case by the government, markets of all capacities would be affected.
               This situation, where protesters are adamantly against the passing of the proposed bill, occurred as the Mexican government grew closer to turning this proposal into reality. This situation will be resolved if the government chooses to forgo the enactment of this ruling, a process that already seems to be underway. Obviously, more in-depth policies regarding internet use and telecommunications would improve the situation. However, censorship and speech-limiting rulings are not favorable.

Link to original article: click here

Mexico: Transportation

1. In regard to water-based transportation, Mexico isn't as developed as the United States. There are seventy-six total seaports and only ten river ports. It's been reported that four of the most frequented seaports are responsible for approximately sixty percent of the merchandise traffic. Two of these popular seaports are called Altamira and Veracruz; these are located in the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, seaports called Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas service the Pacific Ocean. In terms of proximity to the United States, it appears that a seaport called the Rosarito Terminal is closest. The Rosarito Terminal is located near San Diego, CA, just south of Tijuana.


2. Land transportation in Mexico is similar to the United States. The roadway network is extensive, and is actually home to the most paved roads in all of Latin America. The highways and smaller roadways are similar if not identical to those in the US. For the majority of expressways, tolls exist. It's been reported that Mexican tolls are some of the most expensive in the world.

Towards the end of the 20th century, Mexico made the decision to 'privatize' it's railroads. There are metro systems in both Mexico City and Monterrey. There are also smaller railroad systems within Mexico City and Guadalajara. Additionally, a high speed railway from Mexico City to Guadalajara has been proposed but construction has yet to begin. Smaller, passenger-only trains exist throughout the country and are operated by government owned private companies.

Mexico also has a freight-based railway system. This is owned and operated by the national government. While the majority of Mexican rail activity is for freight purposes, passenger trains do exist. Interestingly enough, there are even railway routes that connect to the United States. Before the railway system developed into what it is today, it had been struggling after a major decline during the Mexican revolution.


3. Air transportation in Mexico is important. Throughout the country there is an extensive network of airports. Mexican airports are the most advanced in Latin America; every city with a population of over 500,000 usually has an airport of it's own. Seven of these airports are the most frequented, with about 90% of all Mexican air travel occurring in and between these airports. These top seven include: The Mexico City International Airport, The Cancun International Airport, The Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport, The General Mariano Escobedo International Airport, The General Abelardo L. Rodriguez Intenational Airport, The General Juan N. Alvarez International Airport, and the Lic. Gustavo Diaz Ordaz International Airport. In addition to the international airports, there are approximately seventy domestic airports.

Mexico: International Relations

International trade is very important to Mexico. Interestingly enough, one of Mexico’s most frequent trade partners is the United States. According to the International Trade Study (researched by ING economists), the top nine goods imported to Mexico are all of United States origin. These goods include the following: Office, telecom, and electrical equipment ($43560 million); Fuels ($23333 million); Chemicals ($21930 million); Industrial machinery ($19716 million); Road vehicles and transport equipment ($18726 million); Basic food and food products ($16731 million); Other products ($12757 million); Other manufacturers ($12482 million); Ores and metals ($10993 million). Additionally, the tenth largest flow of imports consists of office, telecom, and electrical equipment from China ($9134 million). 

While international imports are key to the economy of Mexico, Mexican export goods are also significant. Similar to imported goods, the most frequent recipient of exports from Mexico is the United States. According to the International Trade Study (researched by ING economists), the top ten goods exported from Mexico are destined for the United States. These goods include the following: Office, telecom, and electrical equipment ($77233 million); Road vehicles and transport equipment ($48904 million); Fuels ($45702 million); Industrial machinery ($25178 million); Other products ($21689 million); Basic food and food products ($14025 million); Ores and metals ($10021 million); Other manufactures ($9952 million); Textiles ($6100 million); Chemicals ($5175 million). 

In terms of the exchange rate in Mexico, here are the recent details from the CIA World Factbook: 

Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar 
12.76 (2013 est.)
13.17 (2012 est.)
12.636 (2010 est.)
13.514 (2009)
11.016 (2008)

Many individuals from Mexico are migrants. It’s been estimated that 11% of Mexico’s native individuals are living abroad. 97% of these emigrants currently reside in the US, which means there are more than 12 million migrants from Mexico living in America. These migrants may have crossed the border legally or illegally.

In regard to immigration, it has been estimated that approximately 75% of indigenous Mexican emigrants originate in the United States. However, emigration from Mexico is much more frequent than immigration to Mexico.

When considering the international relations of Mexico, the United States plays a large role. Following the historical Mexican War of Independence, the Mexican government realized the importance of promoting positive relationships with America, mostly for trade purposes. Mexico also maintains positive relationships with a variety of other bi-lateral countries and more. Within the Mexican border, however, the government continues to fight a substantial war on the market of illegal drugs. Over 34,612 individuals have been reportedly killed in Mexico throughout the past four years. These individuals include suspected drug-gang members, members of security forces, and persons considered innocent bystanders.