How Has NAFTA Affected the Mexican Economy? Review and Evidence by Ayhan Kose, et al. International Monetary Fund.
April 2004.
This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the impact of NAFTA on growth and business cycles in Mexico. The effect of the agreement in spurring a dramatic increase in trade and financial flows between Mexico and its NAFTA partners, and its impact on Mexican economic growth and business cycle dynamics, are documented with reference both to stylized facts and recent empirical research. The paper concludes by drawing lessons from Mexico's NAFTA experience for policymakers in developing countries. The foremost of these is that in an increasingly globalized trading system, bilateral and regional free trade arrangements should be used to accelerate, rather than postpone, needed structural reform.

North America's Second Decade by Robert A. Pastor. Council on Foreign Relations. Foreign Affairs.
Jan/Feb 2004.
In just ten years, NAFTA has created the world's most formidable free trade area. But in the absence of true partnerships and multilateral institutions, movement toward further regional integration has slowed. The United States, Mexico, and Canada have many common interests; they need to pursue them in common ways.

The Price of Going to Market by Laura Carlsen. Americas Program. International Relations Center.
September 19, 2005.
Last year was the tenth anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and nearly all evaluations of the agreement conceded that the period showed negligible or negative results for Mexico. As the developing country partner of the agreement, Mexico's experience under NAFTA has major implications for other developing nations negotiating FTA's, particularly with the United States.

The Prospects for Deeper North American Economic Integration: A U.S. Perspective by Gary C. Hufbauer and Jeffrey J. Schott. C.D. Howe Institute. The Border Papers No. 195.
January 2004.
NAFTA left several barriers to North American economic integration intact, while the events of September 11, 2001, have raised the possibility of new difficulties for cross-border trade and investment. The NAFTA partners should address these problems through interrelated bilateral and trilateral initiatives that cover trade, energy, migration and the environment.