Editing Guadalajara (section)

=== Foreign trade ===

Most of Guadalajara's economic growth since 1990 has been tied with foreign investment. International firms have invested here to take advantage of the relatively cheap but educated and highly productive labor, establishing manufacturing plants that re-export their products to the United States, as well as provide goods for the domestic Mexican market.<ref name="jeades">{{cite book |last1=Eades |first1=J |title=Migrants Workers and the Social Order |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j2o9AAAAIAAJ&q=Guadalajara+economy&pg=PA42 |access-date=January 24, 2010 |year=1987 |publisher=Tavistock Publications |location=New York |page=42 |isbn=0-422-61680-X |archive-date=25 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925164926/https://books.google.com/books?id=j2o9AAAAIAAJ&q=Guadalajara+economy&pg=PA42 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A media report in early October 2013 stated that five major Indian IT (information technology) companies have established offices in Guadalajara, while several other Indian IT companies continue to explore the option of expanding to Mexico. Due to the competitiveness in the Indian IT sector, companies are expanding internationally and Mexico offers an affordable opportunity for Indian companies to better position themselves to enter the United States market. The trend emerged after 2006 and the Mexican government offers incentives to foreign companies.<ref>{{cite news|title=Guadalajara is now an outpost for Indian IT firms|url=http://qz.com/129867/guadalajara-is-now-an-outpost-for-indian-it-firms/|access-date=3 October 2013|newspaper=Quartz|date=2 October 2013|author=Dale Quinn|archive-date=2 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002204048/http://qz.com/129867/guadalajara-is-now-an-outpost-for-indian-it-firms/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Exports from the city went from US$3.92 billion in 1995 to 14.3 billion in 2003.<ref name="econgob">{{cite web |url= http://business.guadalajara.gob.mx/infraestructura/economy.html |title= Economy |publisher=Government of Jalisco |location=Guadalajara, Mexico |access-date=January 24, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060312172852/http://business.guadalajara.gob.mx/infraestructura/economy.html |archive-date = March 12, 2006}}</ref> From 1990 to 2000, socio-economic indicators show that quality of life improved overall; however, there is still a large gap between the rich and the poor, and the rich have benefited from the globalization and privatization of the economy more than the poor.<ref name="jharner">{{cite web |url= https://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/18/26998979/Globalization-of-Food-Retailing-in-Guadalajara-Mexico-Changes-in-Access-Equity-and-Social-Engagement |title= Globalization of Food Retailing in Guadalajara, Mexico: Changes in Access Equity and Social Engagement |first=John |last=Harner |publisher= Department of Geography and Environmental Studies University of Colorado at Colorado Springs |location=Colorado Springs, Colorado |access-date=January 24, 2010}}</ref>

International investment has affected the labor market in the metro area and that of the rural towns and villages that surround it. Guadalajara is the distribution center for the region and its demands have led to a shifting of employment, from traditional agriculture and crafts to manufacturing and commerce in urban centers. This has led to mass migration from the rural areas to the metropolitan area.<ref name="jeades"/>