PRICES AND MINIMUM WAGE AS COMPLEMENTARY DETERMINING FACTORS IN BINATIONAL CONURBATIONS - DOI 10.5216/bgg.v36i1.40379

Abstract

The exchange rate is a significant information for the understanding of commercial integration in the binational conurbated cities or twin cities. This paper discusses another element to comprehend the processes of integration and commercial complementarity: the minimum wage value and its purchasing power on either side of the border. In this case, the conurbation between Pedro Juan Caballero (the capital of Amambay department - Paraguay) and Ponta Porã (in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul State - Brazil) is studied. The research conducted a survey of prices on two dates, January 2013 and October 2015, to confirm the hypothesis that the conurbation has a pendular and organic movement that transcends the effect of the dollar as a currency of acquisition. The dollar is particularly an structural element of the shopping tourism and not of everyday life in the twin cities, which has in the concept of place its prominence as an explanatory element.
Keywords: binational conurbated cities, borders, twin cities, practices of bordering.