Industrial Upgrading and Cluster Development in the Medical Devices and Aerospace Sectors in Baja California (Mexico)
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2026-03-25
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Abstract
This study analyses the role of the medical device and aerospace sectors in Baja California’s recent process of productive transformation and integration into global value chains (GVCs). Drawing on a combined cluster development and GVC approach, it examines how firms, institutions, and public policies interact to shape upgrading opportunities and development outcomes at the subnational level. Baja California has undergone a significant restructuring of its industrial base, moving from large-scale consumer electronics assembly toward more knowledge-, regulation-, and quality-intensive manufacturing activities. The medical devices sector is organized around a set of global lead firms such as Medtronic, Cardinal Health, and Becton Dickinson, that structure production networks and define upgrading pathways for suppliers and workers. In contrast, the aerospace sector is characterized by a distributed anchor structure, with multiple Tier-1 and Tier-2 firms jointly shaping cluster dynamics. Despite their strong integration into North American production networks, both sectors remain concentrated in manufacturing and assembly functions. The study identifies opportunities to advance economic, social, and environmental upgrading through targeted policies that strengthen supplier development, workforce skills, innovation capacity, and sustainability.
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Gereffi, Gary, and Danny Hamrick (2026). Industrial Upgrading and Cluster Development in the Medical Devices and Aerospace Sectors in Baja California (Mexico). Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/34332.
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Gary Gereffi
Gary Gereffi is Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Director of the Global Value Chains Center at Duke University (https://gvcc.duke.edu/). He has published over a dozen books and numerous articles on globalization, industrial upgrading, and social and economic development, and he is one of the originators of the global value chains framework. His most recent books are: Handbook on Global Value Chains (co-edited by Stefano Ponte, Gary Gereffi and Gale Raj-Reichert), Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. 2019); and Global Value Chains and Development: Redefining the Contours of 21st Century Capitalism (Cambridge University Press, 2018). Current projects include: (1) the impact of U.S. protectionism on jobs and regional trade agreements; (2) evaluating how the digital economy and Industry 4.0 are likely to affect international business strategies and industrial upgrading; and (3) shifting regional interdependencies in East Asia and North America, with a focus on China, South Korea and Mexico vis-à-vis the United States.
Danny W Hamrick
Danny “Dayne” Hamrick is an expert in global value chain analysis with a focus on agriculture, medical devices, and global health. His previous work as a research analyst at the Duke Global Value Chain Center included projects funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, World Bank, Organization of American States, and USAID. Danny holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from North Carolina State University where he used the GVC framework to study the development potential of niche products in rural communities, specifically goods that carry geographical indication labels. He also holds a Master of International Studies (MIS) from North Carolina State University and a BA in Spanish Language and Literature with a double minor in Global Trade and Commerce and Latin American Studies from Wake Forest University. In addition to working as a research analyst for TradeUpgrader, Danny works for the Duke University’s Center for International Development (DCID) as an adjunct instructor where he is also in charge of student recruitment, admissions, and student accounts for Duke’s mid-career graduate program in international development policy as well DCID’s visiting scholar’s program.
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