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This paper studies local governments' decisions on public debt under the Financial Discipline Law for States and Municipalities (ldfem in Spanish) in Mexico. It implies distinguishing economic and political factors and their relevance within ldfem's legal framework that defines norms and limitations for Mexican subnational governments. Based on municipal data for 2017-2019, our results prove that political variables significantly impact municipal debt. This paper highlights the elections' proximity and the incumbent mayor's electoral support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to identify the necessary or sufficient conditions that promote the installed photovoltaic (pv) capacity in Mexico. To do this, different configurations of conditions are identified, which can lead to the same desired case, through the comparative qualitative analysis of complex cases. The analysis suggests that, to boost the installed pv capacity, a long-term planning of the Mexican pv industry should be carried out. The starting point of such a plan should consists of the following five necessary conditions: a) tax credit for investment or production; b) feed in tariff & feed in premium; c) development of intellectual, technical and professional capital; d) the promotion of research and development of pv technology, and e) to include installed pv capacity in smart grids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a systematic review of the scientific literature on participatory monitoring (PM) in Mexico in order to understand its dimensions and usefulness for decision-making and public environmental policies. For this, a conceptual scheme of the mp is proposed from the socioecosystemic perspective (SEPM) in accordance with interdisciplinary scientific approaches and citizen science, through eight structural dimensions. The qualitative method of analysis was based on the application of the Search, Assessment, Synthesis, Analysis (SALSA) protocol, and the use of Scopus and scielo databases. The results first describe general spatial and temporal trends for Latin America and, subsequently, focus on the analysis of 24 preselected and coded publications for Mexico, considering monitoring criteria related to eight structural dimensions of the conceptual scheme. It is observed that the SEPM in Mexico has increased since the year 2000, the scale has been local, the land tenure dominant of social property, the regional scope, and has been more applied to the forest, water and agroforestry socio-ecosystems. The sepm has great potential for decisionmaking at different organizational levels, especially when it is implemented in an integrated manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work is to argue that the decentralization of health services for the uninsured population in Mexico has not yielded the expected results. By analyzing the evolution of some indicators constructed from INEGI and Ministry of Health databases, we conclude that the current government's effort to recentralize health services to the uninsured population in Insabi is justified. However, the contradiction between the declared objectives and the financial effort made is evident, which makes a fiscal reform unavoidable. In the last part, we show the feasibility of this reform in the current economic context and outline its main characteristics, which will be specified in a future paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyze some of the relevant elements of transparency associated to the public policy in education in five Mexican public universities. For this, we use multidimensional indexes based on indicators related to the main public programs in higher education. The analysis incorporate aspects of institutional performance, teaching staff, students and funding. As principal finding, it was identified that Mexican Public Universities have incorporated into their institutional discourse elements derived from educational policy as part of their processes of legitimation, considering the obligatory legal frame. This implies the incrementally approaching the dynamics of transparency present in the Mexican public administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the chemical hazards-related disaster risk reduction (drr) scheme in the petrochemical industry oriented city of Coatzacoalcos (Mexico) in the context of political decentralization. This work addresses the role of public-private partnerships, as well as the institutional environment around civil protection and chemical risk management. The paper identifies the scopes of action of public and private agents, and analyzes the legal framework, the informal political agreements and the non-legal regulations that allow these agents' collaboration. The study shows that the functionality of these partnerships is based on forms of trust that do not rely entirely on the normative framework established by State organizations and international agreements; the trust that underlies their schemes of collaboration is relatively autonomous from the bureaucratic side of this institutional environment. The study concludes that the benefits and rights accessed through personal networks are the core of the institutional environment around risk governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the cost of insecurity and crime (CID) in Mexico at a state level for 2013. The accounting approach is used, classifying costs as follows: anticipation, consequence or remedial, and response. Each of these is measured in terms of the state's gross domestic product and per capita. National average for CID in 2013 was 5.69 per cent of the gross domestic product. The average CID per capita is 6 799 Mexican pesos. It is observed that the richest states are the ones that spend the most. This relation deserves further discussion. We conclude that if the expenditure in public security were oriented to prevention of insecurity, social expenditure, infrastructure or some other area that may impact cultural change, economic growth and job generation, this would allow to boost greater social equality and opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a characterization of water services as public services which purpose should be to generate public value. The case of the Monterrey's Metropolitan Area is analyzed; this case shows the complexity in creating public values for the social, financial and environmental sustainability of water services. Particularly, we analyze universal access, equity for consumption and affordability of water tariffs as public values for the social sustainability of water services. One of the main findings is that efficient water services utilities not necessarily generate public values. The case study shows a clear differentiation in water services access between urban and rural areas; different levels of consumption by income level; affordability; and a persistent loss of water in the water networks. All these aspects affect significantly the generation of public value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the concept of environmental policy integration, qualitative expert interview and participative mapping, this paper focuses on the causes and consequences of environmental impacts on mangroves triggered by ill-coordinated public policies at México's southern Pacific coast. In this context, we identified not only the specific measures applied by governmental institutions and their impacts, but also other crucial political, socioeconomic, and environmental factors, which determined the scale and spatial extension of ecosystem degradation. As a result, public policies lacking environmental integration, particularly stream straightening and incentives to promote the production of biofuel made form African oil palms, were the decisive triggers, but not the sole agents of mangroves' degradation. The scale and spatial extension of observed impacts rather depend on multiply factors, not necessarily related to public policies. Moreover, an explicitly spatial dimension to the qualitative results is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes and discusses the process of institutionalization of citizen participation in Mexican municipalities. The source for this exercise are the databases of Local Government Award (PGyGL) developed in the CIDE which analyze quantitatively and qualitatively the cases brought under the category of citizen participation. The aim is to discuss whether this involvement can be seen as a result of the change emerged in the process of transition towards a new institutional and whether it has instituted a practice of government. The paper has the following structure: in the first part discuss the process of institutional change and the role of citizen participation in local government in this process, secondly are discussed in general the results of PGyGL emphasizing the category of participation data citizen. In a third stage are discussed in detail the experiences that have achieved some recognition in order to evaluate the actors involved and main achievements of the programs, this allow us to know the evolution of the municipalities have had on this issue. We favor the use of empirical data that account for dimension of local government performance and its relationships with citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there is a significant correlation between energy subsidies in Mexico and some dimensions of sustainable development. In this sense are analyzed the CO2 emissions, subsidies per capita energy sector, the annual growth rate of gdp, electricity consumption per capita and the production of equivalent fossil fuel energy. This research has been between the 2004-2010 period in the recent history of that country. Finally the results are studied and also are established different recommendations related to energy policy and even are presented some possible future research lines in this entire topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analize four competitiveness indices for Mexican federative entities produced by two local higher educational institutions and two local agencies. The results indicate that while these studies require indicators to continuously improve their quality and explanatory power, these changes are greater compared to the main international competitiveness indices. Relevance and reliability for the economic planning will be greater for decision makers, policy makers and individuals concerned as usefulness and benchmarks in the design and monitoring of local public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the government of Felipe Calderón (2006-2012), one of the most important issues on police reform was aimed at the elimination of municipal police or its incorporation into the local police aparatus. The idea that the state police can take over the tasks of the municipal police involves considering the role of both institutions as similar, or that the municipal policing activities could be included in the operation of the state police. In this context, the aim of this paper is to argue that at least some municipal police have quite distinct functions to state and cannot be replaced by the usual functions of the state police without substantial and irreplaceable loss of police service that municipalities offer its inhabitants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been an increase in papers in the economics literature that analyze interconnection issues. Most of these papers are highly technical and not readily accessible for people not trained in the economics tradition but oriented towards the study of telecommunications issues. This paper reviews the literature on interconnection by simplifying the technicalities and positing in an intuitive way the main arguments that are relevant for the practical analysis of interconnection. The paper is a bridge between the analytic literature and the practical job of studying interconnection issues. The paper studies one-way-interconnection and two-way-interconnection. We study the literature on efficient component pricing rule (ECPR), price caps and regulation based upon long run incremental cost. We also study interconnection models in two ways, the potential incentives for collusion and the incentives to price discriminate. We also study the issue of the high charges for mobile termination. We rationalize this as a competitive bottleneck and we relate this result with the disadvantages of the calling party pays scheme. In the end we make policy proposals that attempt to reduce market power issues that emerge in the interconnection analysis. The proposals also diminish the incentives to discriminate between on-net calls and off-net calls. In the policy proposals section we discuss schemes such as bill and keep and cost based regulation as tools that attempt to solve the interconnection problems that we find. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The percentage of women heading a municipal government has only increased a point (from 2.9 to 3.8%) over a decade (1986-2006), as opposed to women in other areas, for example the legislative sphere. This paradox has called the attention of several scholars. This paper reviews the literature on female municipal presidents produced in Mexico. The main debates, approaches and findings on the topic are identified. The paper concludes by pointing out some important research needs: state and regional case studies; the socioeconomic characterization of both male and female municipal presidents at the national level and from a comparative perspective; the analysis of the meanings and costs of political participation for women, and the construction of more sophisticated theoretical approaches, capable of explaining the social determinants at play when women make life choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Certainly, the appearance and implementation of the Career Professional Service (CPS) in the federal public administration has transformed, in many ways, the being and work of people management. However, we still do not know the real cost of its results. On the one side, its implementation has not been easy, filled with backward steps, obstacles and resistances, but, on the other side, it has had an interesting record of a series of advances. This paper is aimed at assessing these three years regarding the description of some results, the identification of strengths and weaknesses of the Career Professional Service, and to present some reflections on the present and future of this institution. The paper is divided in the following way: Problems and difficulties in the CPS implementation; CPS organization and results; CPS strength and tension points; Where are we going from here?; and Conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to determine the presence of political budget cycles related to the elections of presidents in Mexico over the period 1980-2014. To do so, autoregressive and moving average models, extended to take account of economic shocks, are estimated for the total public expenditure, the programmable expenditure as well as the components of the latter. Our results suggest that economic shocks (measured by manufacturing production) play a minor role in the dynamics of public expenditure and, more important, that political budget cycles are present in total expenditure as well as current and capital expenditure, among others. This evidence reflects opportunist conducts of governments to remain in power as well as the use of public resources to benefit specific political groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metropolization phenomenon was increased in the last decades in the Latin American middle cities. Traditionally the metropolitan area is delimited by its political structure, each peripheral locality immersed in these geographical areas show dissimilar socioeconomic characteristics depending on their location, that is to say, with own characteristics of gravitation. Therefore, this paper presents a discussion of some international methodologies in the definition of metropolitan areas and proposes a probabilistic model approach to choose the most influential localities in its suburbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of Habitat program concerning social capital of urban poor communities that were intervened between 2009 and 2012 in Mexico. Following a randomized evaluation methodology or experimental type, and applying a difference-in-difference method (DID) to databases resulting from two surveys conducted in more than 11000 households located in 33 cities or metropolitan areas of the country, the conclusion was that the program positively impacted only one of the fourteen variables of the social capital index constructed for this purpose. That variable was prevailing trust between neighbors. Results indicated that the actions of Habitat were insufficient to favorably influence on other significant and specific dimensions of social capital, like participation, cooperation, solidarity, social cohesion or the exchange of useful information in communities, nor in the integral behavior index of social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes steps towards environmental policy integration (EPI) in Mexico, with special emphasis in agricultural policy. So far, the country has mostly used communicative instruments to reach this aim. Semi-structured interviews with high-ranking officials from the ministries of Agriculture and of the Environment show that even though these measures break ground for public servants with the will to implement the principle of EPI in policy towards the countryside, they fail to make environmentally friendly policies mandatory. Yet, recent efforts to achieve this have attained some success. It remains to be seen if they are preserved and further enhanced by the next administrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the local public action in peripheral neighborhoods that do not have water services and sewerage in five cities in the state of Chihuahua. In an analysis that integrates structural and self-management experiences in these colonies, it appears that access to water to some colonies, organizational structures depends on citizens, meanwhile, the residents retain a strong distrust of the political actors and a cold relationship with institutional structures of the political system. It is concluded that the economic crisis and legitimacy of government bodies persists associated with the ineffectiveness of innovative water management in cities and political marginalization of citizens in decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows evidence about the compliance of the Wagner's Law at the level of the Mexican states during the period 1980-2007. This law sets that the growth of public spending is explained as a result of increased economic activity. To test compliance with the law, this study use the specification proposed by Peacock and Wiseman (1961), Musgrave (1969), and Goffman and Mahar (1971), which sets that public spending and output variables are related in their levels. The bulk of empirical research on the fulfillment of the law at the global level has been conducted investigating whether Wagner's Law is fulfilled in the country level, with few studies on its fulfillment at the level of states, provinces or regions into a country. By means of econometric methods of panel data analysis, the whole set of the states of the Mexican Republic is studied, so as three subgroups classified according to their GDP per capita. The results of the cointegration analysis suggest evidence in favor of compliance with the Wagner's Law in the study period and that compliance is a function of the level of development achieved by the states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban freight transport has gained increasingly importance in today's world, where not only its contribution to the economic and social dynamics has been recognized, but also its negative externalities such as traffic congestion, energy consumption, pollution and road accidents. The aim of this paper is to globally evaluate the urban freight transport system within the metropolitan area of Queretaro (Mexico), particularly in relation with the public policies. The research puts into context the transport of goods in cities and the methodological efforts looking at assessing or monitoring of its effects. In the experimental aspect, this work introduces a new method together with its use in the geographical area of study. Results show a deficient performance in relation with the fulfillment of the proposed index concerning the international practices, mainly due to a lack of problem awareness on the part of national and local authorities. It is concluded that this method can serve as an aid to public administrations in diagnosing and intervening, on the basis of a paradigmatic shift in the way the problem is faced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper highlights the historical construction of the concept of rural development in Mexico, particularly is a synthesis of its institutionalization and its evolution in public policy by governments and development agencies. We emphasize the contents of the various rural development approaches, methodologies and the role of government. All this in order to reflect on the prospects of the Mexican rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on financial dependence of Mexican states have concentrated on the effects of the National System of Fiscal Coordination, established in 1980, and regional characteristics of the states. In this paper we analyze the effects of the political framework over states' financial dependence on revenue sharing transfers. The variables comprising the political framework are constructed with the political affiliation of the state governor, the composition of the local congresses, the political affiliation of the Mexican president, and the electoral cycles. In order to study the influence of such framework, we propose and estimate empirical fixed effects models with the panel data approach. We use a data base consisting of a pooling of cross sectional (31 states) and annual time series (1998-2006). The results show evidence that the impact of confluence and political cycles on financial dependence is different, depending on political affiliation of the governor. It is in that sense that not only institutional, economic, fiscal, and regional factors influence states' financial dependence: the political framework is also important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on hard data, this paper studies some of the features of bank lending to firms in Mexico which are of interest to economic theory and looks for evidence of statistically significant differences between the loans provided by commercial and development banks. The analysis is based on a comparison of characteristics of the loans (the existence of collateral, loan purpose, etc.) as well as those of the borrowers (if they are firms or persons, their size, their economic activity, etc.). It is found that the loans granted by mexican development banks are not always similar to those granted by private banks. However, differences do not necessarily imply that development banks mitigate the market imperfections from which credit exclusion emerges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of analyzing an investment policy about water supply, sewerage and sanitation in the Mexican economy. The authors evaluated the effects of a fiscal policy that taxes the water consumption of various economical sectors so that the funds raised will finance the investment in water supply and waste water sector. In order to evaluate the economic impact, the authors use a computable general equilibrium model. It is concluded that there is an optimal level of investment in the water supply sector which is closely linked to the form of financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the spatial patterns and trends of vehicle theft crimes in Mexico City. Data on arrests and criminal warrants are examined at the municipality and police sector levels. Also, series are examined in a yearly, monthly and daily fashion. This allows the detection of hot spots and the probabilistic forecasting of vehicle theft crimes on a daily basis. This is performed within reasonable limits of data reliability, sampling error, and in disconnection from theoretical postulates. Findings are discussed in relationship to criminal prevention policy actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the finance policy through contestable extraordinary funds implemented by the Mexican Ministry of Public Education in the state public universities between 2001 and 2005. The results show that this allocation mechanism of public resources has been effective to reward their institutional consolidation. It has also improved their social returns and their contribution to the educational equity through a better quality higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contrasts public policies to enforce the payment of water services provided by two water utilities at the US-Mexico border. Our study shows that different payment enforcement strategies are shaped by the institutional context of each city. More importantly, these findings suggest that a high rate of nonpayment is associated with inadequate institutional arrangements that involve utilities, local politicians, and water users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the construction of a labor condition index at the state level in Mexico. Using data from the National Employment Survey 2004, we aggregate an index with three dimensions: equality conditions (by gender and by income), jobs covered by social security and returns to schooling. Results show that states with better labor conditions are in general in the North: Coahuila, bcs, Aguascalientes, Nuevo León, bc and Chihuahua. States with a lower labor condition index are: Morelos, Oaxaca, Tlaxcala, Guerrero and Chiapas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The appearance of the official poverty line in Mexico in 2000 has not been very useful for a more effective antipoverty policy. One of the main reasons has been that the official line does not acknowledge the wider discussion about poverty that has happened in the last four decades in Northern countries. Two different approaches emerge from that literature. One is the "basket of good approach" used in the United States. The other is the "social relative standards approach" to poverty that has been applied in the European Union. To select between them has important implications in terms of poverty conceptualizations and the appropriate policies to deal with it. This paper describes both approaches and draws some lessons for the case of Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the experience of organized women groups in the municipality of Cunduacán, Tabasco, México, during the period of 2004 to 2007. This was a process in which some women from rural communities fought to defend their rights and demanded public policy, municipal regulations and state laws that protect them. During that process, municipal government created the Care for Women Coordination. The activities of the Coordination and women groups put the local agenda in items of women's rights and gender equity. With these references, we discussing about citizen action in the construction of public policies, with two relevant elements in this experience: Requiring a political openness of a local government product of alternating partisan, as well as the press for change of persons and communities involved. The other element was that in an effective way to solve a social problem, the government structure and its policies must be adapted to the social demands. The Care for Women Coordination is an example of transversely attention of women problems based on participation of them [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the importance of policy networks, by analyzing two case-studies, chosen by their international importance and their similarities in social and economic terms: The Forest Pilot Plan (PPF, by its initial in Spanish) and the Biosphere Calakmul Reserve (RBC). The core hypothesis is that both the structure of policy-network (coordination and degree of relevance of each policy actor) and the efficiency of strategies -rather the social participation, as usually argued by the majority of works on forestry policies- were the key factors, which influenced the policy process and its subsequent initial policy-outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study of regulation of natural gas pricing in Mexico as a case of "successful" policy research. Studies done under an academic agreement between the Comisión Reguladora de Energía (CRE) and the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) in Mexico City have analyzed the welfare efficiency implications of the netback rule based on the Houston gas price that is used to set the domestic gas price. This rule results from a well structured welfare maximization general model. However, in practice the netback rule has been debated during several North American price spikes. Policy makers relied on CIDE studies to keep the netback rule. This case study examines how and why policy makers did so. The debate within the Mexican government is analyzed, and the actors involved in the policy discussions are described, as well as the relationships between CIDE and CRE that were developed, and that helped in the communication with policymakers. The methods of dissemination of research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although regulatory authorities have always been a part of the institutional makeup of Mexican public administration, the idea of independent regulatory authorities was introduced only in the early 90's, when the process of economic reform was well underway. These independent regulatory authorities can be grouped into two broad categories. The first includes typical sectoral regulatory entities (e.g. energy and telecommunications). The second category comprises independent agencies created to anchor continuous horizontal reform processes, such as competition and access to information. Based upon the Mexican regulatory authorities' experience, this paper proposes a framework for the analysis of accountability mechanisms of independent regulators. An important lesson from this review is that the use of mechanisms such as access to information and regulatory impact analysis, enforced by other independent regulatory agencies, strengthen the horizontal accountability of sectoral regulatory authorities and reduces the risk of capture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the limitations to regional planning are exposed, especially regarding ecological ordinances since they need horizontal and vertical coordination among different government levels and several actors to better know, adapt and apply the law in their own competences. We propose the possible use of Strategic Environmental Assessment as a tool to motivate transversal coordination among these different agencies to formulate, apply, evaluate and monitor ecological and territorial ordinances. Besides, we express the need to motivate a government transversal coordination scheme to operate coastal lands and vertical coordination among them to attend all types of ecological ordinances (general, regional, local and marine). We took as an example the regional ecological ordinance and the regional environmental impact assessment applied to one of the most ambicious projects of Vicente Fox presidential period named "Nautic ladder of the Sea of Cortes, Mexico". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexico's water policy has been dramatically reformed over the last dozen years. Centerpieces of the reforms are new legal regimes, different roles for water authorities and a decentralized management of water resources. Water reform is based on a vision of water as an economic good, and its uses are driven by market dynamics. Rather than keeping its role as developer, the State is responsible for allocating and regulating water uses. This paper has a two-fold purpose. First, it aims at assessing the pros and cons of neoclassic economics, which has exerted a deep influence on the water reform. Second, it uses some indicators of performance (e.g. investments and fees) to evaluate some results of the water reform. It shows that water reform has been relatively successful in some economic respects (e.g. reduced governmental investments). Yet less attention has been paid to key issues such as access to the resource by different sectors (equity) and the environmental impacts of water systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is focused on the relevance of routines as a part of the current institutional framework in the context of Mexican local governments. Its purpose is to analyze the implementation network considered in the Law of Sustainable Rural Development, in relation to the procedures the new normative framework establishes, like guidelines of forced behavior for the municipal governments, and, simultaneously, as a condition for success for one of its modalities of execution. The authors consider if the implementation network fits the actual way municipalities effectively pursue rural development policy. In this way, they try to identify the organizational adjustment that exists between the new policy design and the routines previously adopted by local governments. The hypothesis is that local governments tend to adapt the new policy to their own routines, instead of modifying their behavior in relation to the new policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inter-municipal associations for providing services are presented as a choice to Mexican municipalities that lack economic resources and capabilities. The paper discusses the probability that municipalities will associate with them, and which factors act as barriers or incentives. A micro-database is used and, by means of a probabilistic model, the tendency of municipalities to associate is determined. The results show that the municipality size is not relevant. However, the level of marginalization is important, as well as the existence of information and consultancy, the geographical location and the state legislative level on this matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lerma-Chapala basin's future looks serious due to the environmental deterioration of the last decades, given the intensification of the economic-urban development processes. On the one hand, demographic growth continues in the area, which implies more need of water. On the other hand, there is a general perception that rain cycles have shown a deficit. This paper is mainly concerned about analyzing the evolution of the Lerma-Chapala basin (natural environment and economic-urban development) and how this process has impacted the deterioration of the area and reduced its sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impact of public financing policy to higher education in Mexico during the period 1988-2003, considering the experience of public state universities (PSU). It is said that governmental strategy of allocating extraordinary and competing funds has been successful to closing the budget gap between PSUs, reducing budget inequalities. However, existing results show no concluding evidence that access to greater resources is translating into more satisfactory academic results. This supposes a lack of reciprocity in some PSUs to establish the actions and changes needed to advance in processes of academic improvement and institutional consolidation, as well as a limited reach to following mechanism, assessment and governmental control to link resources allocation to palpable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to support water policy-making, particularly in the stage of political feasibility analysis, this paper identifies the variables that determine an increase in water social conflicts in Mexico. To obtain these variables, an econometric model was built from a data-base of water conflicts registered by the national press in the period 1990-2002. The results allow the generation of a general outline of conflicts in Mexico and the identification of those governmental actions that have produced more conflicts. The correlation between conflict and rise or establishment of prices for water consumption receives particular attention, because one of the policies needed to solve the problem of water shortage Mexico is facing is the reform of its price system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of state governments and governors in Mexico has changed dramatically in the last years. Once appendices of the federal executive, they have shifted to important political and economic actors as a consequence of the arrival of democracy, a greater political competition and the decentralization processes that have taken place in Mexico in recent years. Nevertheless, there are not enough studies analyzing directly the fiscal behavior of state governments. In this context, the main objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of political variables and federal shares in state spending, by means of estimating the existence or not of the "flypaper" effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]