Factories in export processing zones import materials and equipment on a duty- and tariff-free basis for assembly or manufacturing. They then re-export the assembled product, usually back to the originating country.
"Traditionally, these firms have [been] located along the US-Mexico border. However, during the past decade
maquiladora production has spread to other regions of Mexico. Perhaps the most dramatic shift in
maquiladora location has been experienced by the state of Yucatán where export-oriented firms now account for one-third of all manufacturing jobs and more than two-thirds of all exports. Interregional input-output analysis reveals that
maquiladora production has had a positive impact on economic growth and distribution of income in both urban and rural regions of the state."
(Biles, J.,
Export-oriented Industrialization and Regional Development: A Case Study of Maquiladora Production in Yucatán, Mexico,
Ideas, University of Connecticut, 2010 visited 2011-02-04)