Cities along the U.S.-Mexico border are different from those in the countries’ interior. San Diego economist James Gerber looks at the reasons why in his new book, “Border Economies: Cities Bridging the U.S.-Mexico Divide.”
It’s a broad analysis of a region that extends nearly 2,000 miles – from San Diego-Tijuana to Brownsville-Matamoros – an area with a population of more than 15.5 million people, the great majority of them living in urban areas.
Migration and drug trafficking have put an international spotlight on the U.S.-Mexico border. But those of us who live and work here know the border is about so much more. “Border Economies” shows that bigger picture.
Gerber touches on many subjects as he studies the flow of goods, people and capital across the border: the treatment of migrants and deportees; the violence in Mexico caused by smuggled U.S. weapons; Mexicans heading north to shop; American patients heading south for medical treatment; and the growing trend of San Diegans moving south for cheaper housing.
His book looks at how a broad array of forces play out in 14 paired cities. He examines factors that have played a role in shaping today’s border communities. That includes tourism, migration, economic policy, border enforcement, shared water resources and manufacturing.
And he looks for ways to enhance collaboration.
“Border cities are joined at the hip. We’re married and there’s no divorce,” Gerber told me. “We will increasingly be influencing each other and living joint lives. Whether we do that happily or with a great deal of conflict, that’s up in the air.”
Gerber was first drawn to the border in the mid-1980s after earning his doctorate in economics at UC Davis and taking a teaching job at San Diego State University.
The following is an excerpt of our interview, edited for length and clarity.
Q: How are border cities different from other cities?
A: We are different because we are influenced by the policies and events and spillover effects that come from another country. That’s totally unlike the interior of the United States or Mexico.
Q: Can you give a couple of examples of issues that are unique to cross-border regions?
A: The movement of people to Tijuana because of high housing prices in San Diego, or to get their medical services in Tijuana. We have businesses on the U.S. side that are offering health insurance to their employees that they can access in Mexico.
In most U.S. border cities, there’s an abnormally large retail sector because of Mexican shoppers crossing the border. When there’s a pandemic and people can’t cross as easily, there’s a recession caused by the lack of Mexican shoppers in a lot of communities on the U.S. side.
Q: Are San Diego and Tijuana different from other border cities?
A: San Diego and Tijuana are unusual because of their size. We’re the largest border cities by far, so that makes this area a bit different.
Also, we’re in the Pacific basin, so we have trans Pacific influence that other border cities don’t have – from China, Japan and Korea. And then the constellation of high tech, particularly biotechnology with its research and development is a bit different than what you find in other border cities.
The level of higher education is higher here. Other cities have universities and technical schools, but not to the same degree.
Q: In your book, you note the high degree of interactions and interdependence that characterize paired border cities. But you conclude they are not integrated economic regions. Can you talk about that?
A: We shouldn’t get too lost in the idea that we are all just one. We’re not integrated in that sense that economists use the terms.
Incomes in San Diego on average are several times what they are in Tijuana. The income of the city of San Diego is vastly greater than the income of the city of Tijuana in terms of city budgets.
At the same time, we are super interactive, you know, with the flows of people, the flows of goods and services, the flows of finance that cross the border regularly. Enormous amounts that are indicative of a lot of interaction between San Diegans and Tijuana.
The same is true all along the border. In every pair of communities on the border you see that same incredible flow.
Q: There’s been a lot of talk about “the border crisis”, with soaring numbers of migrants coming across. How do you react to that?
A: The notion that there is a crisis caused by the border is fallacious. There is a crisis in U.S. immigration policy, that’s the crisis. People are going to migrate and they’re going to migrate in bigger numbers over time because of the climate crisis. This is something that we need to learn how to manage better.
Q: You call for binational treaties to manage difficult cross-border issues such as migration and weapons smuggling. How would this play out?
A: There would be joint responsibility and joint authority, to take the finger-pointing away and put it on what the problem is.
There should be agreements about when we deport people, what are the services that they will have? How are we going to help them reintegrate into Mexican society?
For migrant families traveling together, we need agreements about how we’re going to treat them.
Q: Why is the border important?
A: The border in some ways is a key to U.S.-Mexico relations. If we can figure out a set of institutions that we can put in place to manage activity on the border in a more humane and peaceful way, U.S.- Mexico relations would be infinitely better.
In Other News
Semiconductor opportunities: The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City is working with the state of Baja California and the business group CANIETI on a forum that will focus on opportunities for collaboration between the U.S. and Mexico in the semiconductor industry. Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda said last week that participants will look at talent, suppliers, infrastructure, and logistics of the semiconductor industry. Voice of San Diego reported last month on the push for growing connections between Baja California and Arizona in the semiconductor field. In an article last month, the Economist news magazine reported that Mexico and Brazil have been missing opportunities for high-tech growth in the shifting global semiconductor industry.
Migrant detainees: KPBS reports on a lawsuit alleging that migrant detainees are receiving inadequate medical treatment at the Otay Mesa Detention Center due to a shortage of nurses. The facility is run by CoreCivic, a private company under contract by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Unaccompanied minors: Growing numbers of migrant unaccompanied minors are crossing through San Diego, inewsource reports.
Sewage contamination: The Union-Tribune looks at how the lack of sewage treatment in Tijuana is affecting beachgoers on both sides of the border.
Spillover cartel violence: Officials are linking three shootings in San Diego County to a dispute in Baja California between a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel and the remnants of the Arellano Felix Organization. The San Diego Union-Tribune takes a close look at these incidents, interviewing law enforcement officials on both sides of the border, as well as other experts.
Cuerpos en tránsito: The international dance festival celebrates its 25th anniversary at the Tijuana Cultural Center (Cecut) through Sunday, with performers from Baja California, Mexico City and Spain. On Thursday, San Diego choreographers Jean Isaacs and George Willis will join Tijuana choreographer Minerva Tapia in a panel discussion. For a full schedule of events, click on this link.
To: Sandra Dibble
The UC Davis prof. conveniently omits one very important cultural difference – criminal activities in Baja and the criminal activities Baja citizens commit in the US. The educrats refuse to discuss this. But this matters most to US citizens who do not want to be further victims either in Baja or here at our homes.