This book discusses the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in terms of its implications for job creation, reduced tariffs, and increased investment. Although the regional trading blocs merging in Europe, North America, and East Asia differ strikingly, there is one basic feature common to each--the formation of regional trading blocs involves a uniting of high- and low-wage areas. The authors address this issue directly, questioning whether NAFTA will promote upward or downward convergence of compensation rates, unit labor costs, and benefit levels. Equally important, they consider whether this trading arrangement will promote economic growth, investment, and efficiency. Viewpoints from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico and from the business and labor communities are included.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Malcolm R. Lovell, Jr., Dieter Dettke, and Paul H.Boeker Acknowledgments About the Editors About the Authors NAFTA as a Model of Development: The Benefits and Costs of Merging High- and Low-Wage Areas by Richard S. Belous and Jonathan Lemco Editors Part I. Setting the Stage 1. The NAFTA Development Model of Combining High- and Low-Wage Areas: An Introduction by Richard S. Belous and Jonathan Lemco Part II. Implications of the NAFTA for Wages and Investment 2. The NAFTA and Wage Convergence: A Case of Winners and Losers by Clark W. Reynolds 3. The NAFTA, a Social Charter, and Economic Growth by Harley Shaiken 4. The NAFTA's Winners and Losers: A Focus on Investment by Isaac Cohen 5. The NAFTA and Downward Wage Pressure by Richard Rothstein 6. Dynamic Integration, Foreign Investment, and Open Regionalism in the NAFTA and the Americas by Van R. Whiting, Jr. Part III. Implications of the NAFTA for Development 7. Expanding the NAFTA? From Early Pan-Americanism to Hemispheric Economic Integration by Joseph Grunwald 8. The NAFTA and Developing Countries by Sidney Weintraub 9. Dynamic Gains from Intra-regional Trade in Latin America by Rudolf M. Buitelaar Part IV. Mexican Perspectives 10. A Critical View of a NAFTA Including Mexico by Adolfo Aguilar Zinser 11. The NAFTA: A Mexican Search for Development by Gustavo del Castillo V. 12. Mexican Economic Development and the NAFTA by Daniel Szabo 13. Mexico's Interests and the NAFTA by Jorge Bustamante Part V. Canadian Perspectives 14. Canada's Interests and the NAFTA by Ronald Wonnacott 15. The Development Impact of the NAFTA: A Canadian Perspective by Ann Weston Part VI. Industry and Labor Perspectives 16. Global Trends and the Impact on Business in Latin America in the 1990s by John D. Tessier 17. A Labor Perspective on the NAFTA by William C. Doherty 18. The Sector Advisory Process and the NAFTA by Eugene W. Zeltmann 19. Trade Liberalization and Mexico by Juan de Nigris Part VII. Regional Trading Blocs, Social Policies, and Cross-Border Constituencies 20. Can the EC Social Charter Be a Model for the NAFTA? by Reiner Hoffmann 21. The Role of Nongovernmental Organizations and the NAFTA by Cathryn L. Thorup Index