Abstract

This article applies the global commodity chain approach to analyze the way policymakers encouraged an automotive commodity chain to touch down in Silao, Mexico. The article explains that the changing dynamics of the global auto industry have transformed it into an "assembler-driven" commodity chain. It notes how policymakers in the state of Guanajuato employed their understanding of the automotive commodity chain, and Mexico's role in the North American auto industry to craft a development strategy aimed at attracting General Motors to Silao, and then luring manufacturers in the automaker's supply chain. This strategy of attracting the lead firm and then working down a producer-driven commodity chain stands in stark contrast to recent development theories prescribing industrial upgrading among firms in buyer-driven commodity chains.

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