Policy In Mexico Research Articles

A framework for research assessment in social sciences through Big Data

The scarce public policy funds demand cost-effective outputs and more innovative forms to inform decision making. During the last years, there has been increasing use of Big Data for research and policymaking by international development institutions. For this reason, the main objective of the present work is to propose a framework to apply Big Data in a high-relevance program for science policy in Mexico, which assesses the researchers' performance. Social sciences are considered the most difficult area to assess, due to there is no theoretical-methodological consensus and the academic impact is difficult to determine because social sciences do not exhibit long term development. Instead, there are a plurality of paradigms or changing topics that do not have consensus among the academic community. In this regard, this work outlines a framework, which includes indicators of the social contribution of science since computational tools should have an orientation.

Toward a contextualized research agenda: Governance challenges of the wastewater treatment policy in Mexico and the role of subnational governments

AbstractWastewater treatment is failing worldwide. Like many parts of the world, Mexico and Latin America continue to face significant challenges associated with the implementation of wastewater treatment plant (WTP) policy. Research has identified that wastewater treatment challenges are related to governance failures. To address these challenges, international organizations have proposed approaches such as Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and decentralization. However, these governance approaches have not achieved the intended outcomes and from a scholarly perspective, new frameworks have been developed to understand the context of governance challenges. Yet, an analysis based on Scopus and Web of Science shows that academic research employing such contextual approaches to the WTP policy in Mexico is still scarce. Against this background, the objective of this focus article is to reflect on the current governance challenges of the WTP policy in Mexico and to propose some areas of research that can provide new insights that support the development of a policy tailored to the Mexican context. The few research that has used contextual approaches demonstrated that subnational governments have a key role in the WTP policy in Mexico. Building upon this finding, I encourage the employment of contextual frameworks and the development of interdisciplinary research analyzing the role of subnational governments in the WTP policy. This type of research can provide relevant insights that could help to improve wastewater treatment not only in Mexico but also in other countries with similar governance structures and challenges, as is the case in Latin America.This article is categorized under: Human Water > Water Governance

Progress and challenges in tobacco control policies in Mexico, 2003-2017: an approach using the Tobacco Control Scale.

The study aims to assess the implementation of tobacco control policies in Mexico from 2003 through 2017 using the Tobacco Control Scale (TCS). The TCS is a research tool widely used in the European region. It facilitates assessment of tobacco control policy implementation based on six cost-effective interventions: tobacco taxes, smoke-free policies, advertising bans, public spending on the information campaign, health warnings, and smoking cessation treatment, reflecting results in a total score between 0 and 100. From 2003 through 2017, Mexico's total score improved from 24/100 to 55/100, with substantial progress in raising tobacco taxes, 11 subnational smoke-free laws, and with placement on cigarette packs of large health warnings with pictograms. Progress in tobacco control policies implemented in this period corresponds with a decrease in smoking prevalence across Mexico. This tool is useful for monitoring tobacco policy implementation in low- and middle-income countries and be used for advocacy purposes to enforce and improve tobacco control legislation.

The Role of Effective Knowledge on Contraceptive Methods Use in the Replication of Mother-Daughter Adolescent Pregnancy in Mexico.

An important gap in the literature is the analysis of the role of effective knowledge concerning use of contraceptive methods in the intergenerational reproduction of adolescent pregnancy in low- and middle-income countries. Using data from the 2014 Mexico National Survey of Demographic Dynamics, we conducted a retrospective cohort and complete case analysis of women aged ≤ 19years cohabitating with their mothers and who self-reported having had sexual intercourse at the moment of the survey (n = 5143). We estimated instrumental variable probit models (IV-probit) to assess the association between effective knowledge concerning the use of contraceptive methods and adolescent pregnancy. We stratified our models according to parental history of adolescent pregnancy. Adolescent pregnancy prevalence in our sample was 58.7%. The IV-probit model showed that mothers with a history of adolescent pregnancy were 12.1 percentage points more likely to have daughters who experience adolescent pregnancy. In addition, daughters with effective knowledge concerning the use of contraceptive methods were 1.3 percentage points less likely to experience an adolescent pregnancy. Our findings carry relevant implications for policies seeking to reduce adolescent pregnancy. They highlight the need for policies and programs that tackle the intergenerational transmission of sexual and reproductive behaviors by increasing the information available to adolescents and enhancing their effective knowledge about the use of contraceptive methods. Identifying population groups at higher risk of adolescent pregnancy can contribute to the design of successful reproductive health policies in Mexico and other low- and middle-income countries.

Bioethics and public health policies in Mexico.

Bioethics, as a reference framework for collective decision-making in plural societies, represents a valuable tool for the development, implementation and evaluation of public policies in order to address structural deficiencies and contexts of vulnerability that disproportionately affect certain sectors of the population. To provide guidelines for the strengthening of actions, programs and public policies aimed at addressing the ethical dilemmas and challenges faced by health personnel. A documentary research process was carried out on the moral context faced by health personnel at the federal level. Health budget programs show important gaps in their design, implementation or evaluation, which give rise to various ethical and human rights problems. Given the difficulty for reaching agreements or generating common understanding with regard to public health problems, bioethics contributes to a systematic approach to the challenges of the National Health System, for the safeguarding of the human rights of users, as well as of the integrity of its institutions.

The Political Work of “Culture” in Struggles to Reform the Mexican State

This article addresses the question of how state officials promote reform and generate buy-in absent sanctioning power. We examine how, in such cases, reformers deploy culture as a “category of practice” to articulate political projects, direct resources and energies, and make certain reform efforts possible. Drawing on participant observation and 120 in-depth interviews, we examine culture-talk and culture-work within efforts aimed at implementing monitoring and evaluation policies in Mexico. We find culture-talk helps reformers account for failure and set their reform efforts apart from competing proposals, while culture-work seduces cooperation and ensures reformers access to different parts of the state. We argue that when mobilized against the challenges reformers face, culture narratives and practices have important political effects, contributing to the legitimation, expanding jurisdiction, and organizational survival of reform niches in Mexico. Our argument illuminates the cultural dimensions of political reform and the performative power of state reform actors.

Educación, derechos humanos y migración de retorno en México: el caso del estado de Hidalgo

Return migration has acquired relevance among scholars in Mexico, a fact attributable to a historical increase in migration dynamics, particularly with the United States. In the last few years, the issue of Mexican returnees has severely intensified as a result of restrictive immigration policies in the receiving countries. This paper aims to explore the problem faced by Mexican returnees when they try to access the national education system through the lens of transnational migration, first by discussing the available literature on return migration in Mexico and then through a qualitative approach based on a documental review of public policies in Mexico and in the state of Hidalgo aimed towards educational inclusion. Finally, our findings suggest that Mexican authorities have deployed a number of merely palliative policies that so far have not achieved their aims.

Building a Bioethanol Market in Mexico

Objectives: This article aims to analyze the economic effects of bioethanol policies in Mexico, where there have been several attempts to introduce biofuels into the market but so far, no success. Methodology: Technically, an endogenous-price mathematical programming model is developed emphasizing the agricultural and fuel sectors, which are embedded in a multi-region, multi- product, spatial partial equilibrium model. Bioethanol can be produced both from a dedicated crop and from agroindustrial residues. Three policy alternatives are considered as well as a base case in which, as now, liquid fuels are all derived from fossil sources. The first alternative consists of subsidies to biofuel producers, the second of blending mandates and the third of both combined.Results: Results show some losses for fuel and agricultural consumers, that are not offset by both ethanol producer and environmental gains. Limitations and implications: The base year data should be more recent, but it is very difficult to gather all this amount of information for a more recent year. Like any partial equilibrium model, the analysis ignores the effects outside the markets included in the model. Originality and value: Model developed for this research, and it is the first economic study on bioethanol in Mexico that reaches such a detailed analysis. Conclusions: This research suggests that it is possible to develop a bioethanol market in Mexico, but some compensating redistribution among economic groups may be needed if these policies are to be seen as politically sustainable.

Irrigation Increases Crop Species Diversity in Low-Diversity Farm Regions of Mexico

Although agricultural intensification generally has homogenizing effects on landscapes that reduce crop diversity, the specific effects of different input strategies on crop diversity are unclear. This study examines the effects of irrigation inputs on crop species diversity in Mexico. We assess the richness and evenness diversity of 297 crop species across 2455 municipalities while controlling for environmental and socioeconomic factors and farm structural and functional characteristics. Using a quantile regression approach, we assess relationships across conditional quantiles of low-, medium-, and high-diversity farm regions. Results show irrigation level (% cropland irrigated) is a strong positive predictor of crop species richness and evenness diversity across all quantile regions. Moreover, the quantile effects of irrigation on evenness diversity are five times greater in low-diversity rather than high-diversity regions. With implications for agricultural water policy in Mexico, this study illustrates the potential benefits of sustainable irrigation expansion in water-rich but irrigation-poor farming regions. Specifically, by enhancing crop species diversity, carefully targeted irrigation expansion can support the transition to sustainable intensification.

Decentralization and local industrial policy in Mexico

Globally, local officials increasingly employ tools of industrial policy, once considered the prerogative of national governments. On one hand, some research suggests officials who are sensitive to the needs of local industry may be better able to design appropriate policy interventions. On the other, many studies of decentralization suggest that dynamics common to local discretion – including uneven capacity, capture by local elite, and narrow political motivations – may undermine effective industrial policymaking. There is little comparative scholarship that adjudicates between these potential outcomes by examining how local policymakers intervene in industrial development. Accordingly, this paper examines how state governments used discretion allowed by a business development program in Mexico (Fondo PyME) to shape their own approaches to industrial development. It examines the design of state-level interventions under the Fondo PyME and compares these interventions with effective industrial policies employed by so-called developmental states. Quantitative evidence indicates a tendency for Mexican states to use horizontal and passive interventions that address the immediate, short-term needs of local firms, rather than the targeted, risk-mitigating, conditional interventions that were historically effective for developmental states. These findings raise questions about how much local discretion will contribute to effective national industrial development policies.

Hacer legible a Ciudad Neza: reestatalización del gobierno mediante la reforma policial democrática

Based on an ethnographic review of professional experiences in “democratic security” policies in Mexico (2011-2017), this paper analyzes the appropriation of community policing schemes by certain local authorities. As illustrated by the neighborhood police service in Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, this process involves diverse actors such as social scientists and members of civil society organizations, whose co-production of security and citizen participation programs can be aligned with illiberal and, in fact, characteristically state projects –i.e., introducing police intermediation in the clientelist management of services and demands, as well as making the population socially and spatially legible in terms of planned intervention.

The Impact of Education and Insurance Status on Past-Year Dental Visits Among Older Mexican Adults: Results From the 2001 and 2012 Mexican Health and Aging Study.

Objective: This study assessed past-year dental visits among older Mexican adults from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS). MHAS is a nationally representative cohort study of adults 50years and older from Mexico. Methods: Baseline data from 2001 were compared with 2012 data. Binary logistic regression identified significant predictors of past-year dental visits. Decomposition techniques examined factors that contributed to changes in dental visits between 2001 and 2012. Results: Education and insurance status were positively associated with past-year dental visits, while decomposition results showed that population composition (more adults receiving insurance and higher education over time) contributed to the increased prevalence of dental visits between 2001 and 2012. Discussion: Education and insurance are critical factors that govern access to oral healthcare. After the provision of universal dental coverage by Mexico's Seguro Popular in 2003, our results may reflect promising effects of such programs, which can inform future policies in Mexico and other settings.

A Comprehensive COVID-19 Daily News and Medical Literature Briefing to Inform Health Care and Policy in New Mexico: Implementation Study.

BackgroundOn March 11, 2020, the New Mexico Governor declared a public health emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The New Mexico medical advisory team contacted University of New Mexico (UNM) faculty to form a team to consolidate growing information on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its disease to facilitate New Mexico’s pandemic management. Thus, faculty, physicians, staff, graduate students, and medical students created the “UNM Global Health COVID-19 Intelligence Briefing.”ObjectiveIn this paper, we sought to (1) share how to create an informative briefing to guide public policy and medical practice and manage information overload with rapidly evolving scientific evidence; (2) determine the qualitative usefulness of the briefing to its readers; and (3) determine the qualitative effect this project has had on virtual medical education.MethodsMicrosoft Teams was used for manual and automated capture of COVID-19 articles and composition of briefings. Multilevel triaging saved impactful articles to be reviewed, and priority was placed on randomized controlled studies, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, practice guidelines, and information on health care and policy response to COVID-19. The finalized briefing was disseminated by email, a listserv, and posted on the UNM digital repository. A survey was sent to readers to determine briefing usefulness and whether it led to policy or medical practice changes. Medical students, unable to partake in direct patient care, proposed to the School of Medicine that involvement in the briefing should count as course credit, which was approved. The maintenance of medical student involvement in the briefings as well as this publication was led by medical students.ResultsAn average of 456 articles were assessed daily. The briefings reached approximately 1000 people by email and listserv directly, with an unknown amount of forwarding. Digital repository tracking showed 5047 downloads across 116 countries as of July 5, 2020. The survey found 108 (95%) of 114 participants gained relevant knowledge, 90 (79%) believed it decreased misinformation, 27 (24%) used the briefing as their primary source of information, and 90 (79%) forwarded it to colleagues. Specific and impactful public policy decisions were informed based on the briefing. Medical students reported that the project allowed them to improve on their scientific literature assessment, stay current on the pandemic, and serve their community.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 briefings succeeded in informing and guiding New Mexico policy and clinical practice. The project received positive feedback from the community and was shown to decrease information burden and misinformation. The virtual platforms allowed for the continuation of medical education. Variability in subject matter expertise was addressed with training, standardized article selection criteria, and collaborative editing led by faculty.

Implementation of Breastfeeding Policies at Workplace in Mexico: Analysis of Context Using a Realist Approach

Return to work is one of the most significant barriers to breastfeeding (BF). Family-friendly policies are critical to ensure that BF and maternal work are not mutually exclusive. This study aims to determine contextual factors and underlying mechanisms influencing the implementation of workplace policies in Mexico. Following a qualitative approach, the study was conducted in the following four cities in Mexico: Mérida, Chihuahua, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. Interviews were conducted in 14 workplaces, and included 49 (potential) beneficiaries, 41 male employees, and 21 managers and human resources personnel. The information collected was analyzed through a deductive thematic analysis and mapped against the Context-Mechanism-Outcome framework of Breastfeeding Interventions at the Workplace. Contextual factors influencing a BF-friendly environment in the workplace were as follows: work-schedule flexibility, provision of lactation services (i.e., BF counseling) other than a lactation room, women’s previous experience with BF and family-friendly environments in the workplace. The underlying mechanisms enabling/impeding a BF-friendly environment at the workplace were as follows: awareness of Mexican maternity protection legislation, usage of BF interventions in the workplace, culture, supervisor/co-worker support and BF-friendly physical space. To achieve a BF-friendly environment in the workplace, actions at the level of public policy and workplaces must accompany adherence to Mexican legislation.

Effects of a Linear Innovation Policy in Non-linear Innovation Sectors: Empirical Study in Strategic Sectors of the State of Mexico

This article takes up the discussion of the different models of innovation to understand science, technology and innovation policy in Mexico. The main objective of this research is to identify the effects of the innovation policy in Mexico in strategic sectors of the State of Mexico, through public policy instruments focused on encouraging technological innovation in companies in the State of Mexico. Another objective of this study is to add to the development of the theoretical framework of the innovation policy that helps to design better instruments that promote innovation in diverse technological sectors. The main instrument for promoting innovation in companies in Mexico, recognized in the last 20 years, the Innovation Stimulus Program (PEI), is analyzed to find out the impact of a public policy instrument that follows a linear model in companies of strategic sectors of the State of Mexico that follows a non-linear model of innovation. PEI serves companies of different sizes and purposes, it operates under three modalities: INNOVAPYME (aimed at micro, small and medium-sized companies), INNOVATEC (aimed at large companies) and PROINNOVA (companies of any size that present proposals in connection with at least two Higher Education Institutions or Research Centers). For this study, the focus is oriented to companies from strategic sectors of State of Mexico that are dedicated to innovation activities in the areas of the chemical, agro-food, health, automotive, new materials and plastics technology industries, technologies focused on sustainable development, and information technologies. The main strategic sectors of innovation defined in the State of Mexico follow a non-linear model of innovation, but government programs dedicated to encouraging innovation in companies seem to focus on linear innovation processes. Regarding the methodology, quantitative methods are used to know the effect of policy instruments in strategic sectors of the State of Mexico, a microeconomic analysis is supported through the Survey on Innovation and Technological Development (ESIDET) 2017. By knowing the effects of the main instrument of innovation policy in Mexico, it is possible to identify the role of the state government to strengthen these efforts, complement or improve them. The results present some concrete recommendations on the design of public policies to achieve the greatest benefits in investment in STI to promote regional technological innovation in strategic sectors.

Municipal wastewater treatment plants in Mexico: Diagnosis and public policy challenges

The purpose is to identify the main challenges of municipal wastewater treatment policy in Mexico, through an original descriptive statistical analysis, distinguishing data from the country, as well as by states and municipalities. Five challenges are identified: good intentions; abandonment of treatment plants; operation and preventive maintenance; the vacuum of responsibility, and the priority of treatment in state agendas. The conclusion is that the professionalization of local water and sanitation agencies is key to aspiring to materialize good intentions that will be written in the new General Water Law.

Neoliberalism and ELT Policy in México: Analysis and implications from a Political Economy stance

The influence of Neoliberalism on domestic policies has been well documented in the literature. Broadly speaking, there is evidence that many countries have adapted their policies to neoliberal principles which, among other aspects, require governments to promote ‘the privatization of public services, the capitalization and commodification of humanity’ (Kumar and Hill, 2009p. 1). In terms of language learning and teaching, ‘there is little doubt that language is now treated as a skill that, in effect, can be bought and sold in job markets’ (Block, 2018 p. 14). Under this scope, Block, Gray and Holborow (2014 p.1) suggest “one blind spot in the interdisciplinarism of applied linguistics has been political economy and in particular a detailed critique of neoliberalism as the ideology driving the practice of economics by governments and international organizations today. This article derives from a broader study which aims at analyzing a) the orientations, enactment and social/institutional practices of the ELT policies in Mexico under the light of neoliberal ideologies. Here, the analysis -and results- focus on the identification of the relationship of neoliberal ideology and Mexico’s ELT policy. For the purposes of this delivery, the analysis consisted on the identification of the role that macro international organizations have played in shaping Mexico’s domestic education policy over the past three decades. Developing from this, an identification and description of the specific public policies which have emanated from the macro-organizations’ suggestions is also part of the analysis. Results confirm that there is a direct relationship between international recommendations and local policies. These results are discussed under the light of the political economy strand of research in linguistics.

Attitudes towards COVID-19 in students at a university in central Mexico

Until February 2022, the pandemic has led to the death of seven million. Anti-COVID-19 policies in Mexico are distinguished by individual distancing rather than confinement recommended, but not imposed by the State. In this scenario, the pandemic has claimed the lives of 300,000, although the government recognizes another 300,000 related to atypical pneumonia. The objective of the present work was to specify a model for the study of attitudes towards the effects of the pandemic on the environment. An exploratory, cross-sectional and correlational work was carried out with 100 students, considering their confinement and intensive use of electronic technologies, devices and networks. A factorial structure was found that explained 35% of the total variance, although the research design limited the results to the study setting, suggesting the extension of the work towards the contrast of the proposed model.

Configuración de la Política de apoyo alimentario en México; perspectiva de la institucionalización y la gestión pública

This article proposes an institutional analysis based on a methodological design around the study of theinstitutionalization processes and organizational management of the food support policy in Mexico, which contributes to an analysis of the management capacity implemented by Public Entities through the configuration of social programs operated by the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Health. For these purposes, a qualitative methodology of longitudinal type is used during the period 2013 to 2018. The results obtained lie around the idea that public institutions in the current environment require greater flexibility and adaptability depending on several factors, leading to the discussion of a possible reengineering in the structure of the State Public Administration in social matters, making possible the public function under more coordinated operational schemes.

The biodiesel market in Mexico: Challenges and perspectives to overcome in Latin-American countries

• Pricing and control policy for biofuels needs to be independent from fossil fuels. • Biodiesel from used oils is the most competitive raw material. • Establishing quotes for mixing diesel with biodiesel is key to support its market. • Improving technology development in Mexico is crucial for biodiesel production. • Elimination of VAT and IEPS tax is a vital aspect of national policy on biofuel. The current energy policy in Mexico and government’s commitment are mostly focused on fossil fuels. This situation hampers the creation of conditions to develop and strengthening the Mexican biofuel market, although some recent efforts have been oriented in terms of quality regulations, and the production of pure biofuels. Promoting the production and consumption of biodiesel in Mexico requires addressing various challenges, involving technology development for biodiesel production, selection of best raw materials, regulation of the distribution, and commercialization of this biofuel. Here, the legal, institutional, technological and fiscal obstacles to establish a successful biodiesel market are analyzed in this paper, exploring the regulation for biofuels in Mexico, the national production and consumptions of biodiesel, and the value chain and production cost of biodiesel. This investigation is supported by the analysis of 150 interviews conducted with stakeholders in the energy sector.