The paper analyzes total factor productivity (TFP) growth during the period 1929–1944 and its importance as a source of growth in Mexican manufacturing. The analysis of the industry is done at sector level. The paper task focuses on the estimation of TFP growth, and this is done using Harberger's methodology named the Two Deflator Method (2D), whose main characteristic is the realization that the amount of information required to compute the TFP growth rate is much more manageable compared to traditional methods, besides being a very robust and easily applicable method. In addition, the paper presents an empirical analysis to support the thesis that total factor productivity advance was one of the main causes to explain import substitution and growth in manufacturing during the period 1929–1939.
