Static and dynamic effects of Mercosur. The case of the footwear sector

The static effects of trade creation or diversion are generally held to be the essential variable for evaluating the costs and benefits of regional integration. However, it is the effects of a dynamic nature that provide the most convincing arguments in favour of integrating economies rather than opening them up unilaterally. The difficulties involved in measuring these effects make it necessary to isolate aspects that can provide a basis for analysing the changes undergone by the different production sectors and the consequences of these for the levels and types of industrial organization, business strategies, technological modernization and the regional dynamic, among other things. The footwear sector is very useful when it comes to analysing the effects of subregional integration, as it is a sector that displays rising trade flows within and outside the area, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) playing an important role. It forms part of a larger production chain, and its competitiveness depends on systemic factors.