The NAID Center became a recognized authority on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and related issues through research backed by a variety of major institutions in the field, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the Ford Foundation, El Colegio de México, Bank of America, and the U.S., Mexican and Canadian governments.  NAFTA research has focused directly on NAFTA impact analysis, NAFTA institutions, and trading block dynamics.

As an integral part of this research and policy agenda, the NAID Center has hosted a series of conferences on NAFTA-related topics.  In 1996, the NAID Center hosted a Conference on Investment in Mexican Agriculture, in cooperation with the Bank of America.  In 1998, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, we hosted a tri-national conference on the NAFTA side agreements and corresponding institutions.  In 2000, in cooperation with the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, the NAID Center also hosted a tri-national conference on Migrant Agricultural Labor, which was the first time this issue had been discussed among the three countries together.

The NAID Center has conducted research on economic integration topics not explicitly linked to NAFTA, but which broaden the scope of analysis on North American integration and development issues.  For example, the NAID Center has evaluated the economic impact of Proposition 187 in California, California’s trade linkages with the Pacific Rim, and financial liberalization in China and India.  As our experience with NAFTA matures, the NAID Center has found new means to assist individual communities and governments to develop policies of sustainable development.  Our most recent projects, which are described below, generally reflect the Center’s newer knowledge of migration-linked economies.