"So Far From God, so Close to the United States", and yet…: Unexpected Differences in Modern Retail Jobs Between Mexico and the United States

Modern retail chains generate large quantities of entry-level jobs, many of which are low-wage, in Mexico as in the United States. The sector’s employment patterns and practices make up an important strand among processes that generate and reproduce economy-wide inequality. Retail trade jobs also are emblematic of service work as a whole. With a cross-national comparative study, the paper explores the role of work-related and non-work related societal institutions and norms in affecting retail job quality. The paper compares the processes that shape modern retail jobs in the two countries relying upon sectorial field work conducted over the past nine years. Three dimensions of job quality are points of comparison: hours of work; compensation structure; and job mobility. The paper finds that national institutions have discernible imprints on the characteristics of retail jobs. The simplest instances are cases where institutions act directly on employment as occurs with hours of work outcomes. But indirect institutional effects are also important, particularly involving reproductive institutions such as child care systems and norms regarding mothers’ role in child rearing. Still, ample room for managerial discretion and experimentation is found in both countries’ retail sectors.