Corea en el noroeste de Asia y México en Norteamérica: el juego que los dos juegan

Resumen

The regional economic integration strategy has been established in North America for several past decades. Mexico has utilized it with its north American trade partners to cope with international competition in a globalized economy. The main goal has been to gain social benefits and economic development. At the same time, this is particularly true for the case of South Korea in Northeast Asia. Although, the Mexican case is featured with investment and trade promotion principles, the South Korea’s case is framed with an economic policy based on good neighbors for cooperation. This framework sets up this paper´s objective is to compare and to contrast both cases characterized by partial integration processes. To accomplish this objective, this paper reviews the historical background of these two regions. Consequently, this historical account of events facilitates to explore indicators and so establish comparative patterns that will facilitate the assessment of Mexico and South Korea economic performance in their integrated areas. Finally, it argues that for the Mexican case, trade agreements are not a precondition to intensify economic integration, but they offer a framework to guarantee a formal and compromised interaction with the neighboring countries. To some extent, this also could be true for South Korea in Northeast Asia.