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Although developing countries have established scores of new protected areas over the past three decades, they often amount to little more than “paper parks” that are chronically short of the financial, human, and technical resources needed for effective management. It is not clear whether and how severely under-resourced parks affect deforestation. In principle, they could either stem it by, for example, creating an expectation of future enforcement, or they could spur it by, for example, creating open access regimes. We examine the effect of Mexico's natural protected areas (NPAs) on deforestation from 1993 to 2000, a period when forest clearing was rampant and the vast majority of protected areas had negligible resources or management. We use high-resolution satellite data to measure deforestation and (covariate and propensity score) matching to control for NPAs’ nonrandom siting and for spillovers. Our broad finding is that Mexico's paper parks had heterogeneous effects both inside and outside their borders. More specifically, at the national-level, we cannot reject the null hypothesis that NPAs had zero average effect on clearing inside their borders, nor can we reject a similar hypothesis for spillover clearing outside their borders. However, we can detect statistically and economically significant inside- and outside-NPA effects for certain geographic regions. Moreover, these effects have different signs depending on the region. Finally, we find that NPAs with certain characteristics were more effective at stemming deforestation inside their borders, namely, those that were large, new, mixed use, and relatively well-funded. Taken together, these results suggest that paper parks have the potential to either reduce or exacerbate tropical deforestation and highlight the need for further research on the conditions that lead to each outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the relationship between the distance between the cemento-enamel junction and alveolar crest and risk factors commonly associated with periodontitis. Eighty individuals between 28 and 92 years old with known biological sex and age were analyzed from a 20th century forensic human collection from Merida, Yucatan (Mexico). Macroscopic assessment, along with metric analysis, was employed using a probe. Ante-mortem tooth loss was positively correlated with the distance between the cemento-enamel junction and alveolar crest, as was the presence of root calculus in females. Cemento-enamel junction to alveolar crest distance is not a reliable indicator of periodontitis since it is not directly related to periodontitis-causing infectious pathogens, and since ante-mortem tooth loss can affect root exposure. This study demonstrates that a purely quantitative approach to diagnosing periodontitis in archaeological and forensic human remains can be misleading. The skeletal collection is only representative of the low socioeconomic class of Merida, and its female cohort is underrepresented. In addition, because the Xoclan collection is modern, limitations (particularly with respect to tooth wear) of the applicability of these interpretations to older archaeological remains exist. A combination of quantitative and qualitative characteristics of alveolar bone is needed to reliably diagnose periodontitis in skeletal populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploitation of limited energy resources can generate socio-economic inequalities calling for a combination of justice with the socio-technical study of modern energy systems to advance its understanding and remediation. Within this context, this paper uses energy justice and econophysics as theoretical and methodological frameworks to discuss issues of energy poverty in Mexico. The results emerging from this research illustrate that, according to data from 2014, around 61 % of Mexican households suffered from energy poverty due to issues of accessibility or affordability of modern energy services and fuels (with 11.54 % of households facing both types of energy poverty). This paper provides a novel approach that combines advanced quantitative methods based on econophysics, with conceptual frameworks from social sciences like energy justice to discuss issues of energy poverty in Mexico. Furthermore, this research performs an approximation to energy consumption in Mexican households based on monetary expenditure, the heat value of fuels and unit prices during 2014. These methods contribute to the understanding and characterisation of household energy needs and energy consumption in Mexico, reducing the existing gap in the academic literature on the analysis and critical thinking of energy poverty in Global South contexts (specifically in Latin America). • Energy poverty in Mexico is analysed based on metrics of affordability and accessibility. • 38.84% of Mexican households suffered energy poverty by accessibility, 34% to affordability, and 11.54% suffered both. • Econophysics and energy justice are demonstrated as valuable methodological and conceptual tools to examine energy poverty. • This study demonstrates the need to consider transport as a core energy service for future energy poverty studies. • Although quantitative methods are crucial to understanding energy poverty, complementary qualitative studies are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper examines the significance of distributive justice in the discourses of people resisting wind energy in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico. • Activists use health and environmental concerns as frames to avoid social rejection and legitimise other more subtle distributive concerns. • Community norms and power asymmetries play a significant role in the construction of framing mechanisms to resist wind farms. • Is critical to consider reasons for framing mechanisms to advance social and environmental justice. Activists, scholars, and policymakers worldwide have increasingly recognised the intrinsic linkages between energy transitions and justice issues. However, little research exists on how groups affected by renewable energy siting interpret and mobilise justice narratives to legitimise their actions and question development plans. Building on the notion of 'framing' in social movement theory, this study addresses this gap by examininig the discourses adopted by people resisting wind energy developments in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico. The study relies on 64 interviews and participant observation. The findings indicate that anti-wind activists used health and environmental concerns instrumentally: as a framing device to avoid social rejection and legitimise other, subtler distributive concerns about the uneven allocation of economic benefits such as tenancy payments. Although this framing was counterproductive and left their concerns unaddressed, activists adopted this strategy because of community norms and practises that stigmatise the explicit discussion of economic inequalities and their fear of challenging existing power structures. This paper therefore highlights the social mechanisms through which energy transitions reproduce economic inequalities. As a policy recommendation, it is critical to consider how inequalities are framed and the underlying reasons for these interpretive schemes to advance socially just net-zero scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity is fundamental for supporting economic development in emerging economies. Power generation from clean energy sources may help to meet societal needs such as increasing electricity demand while complying with contemporary global challenges (e.g. climate change). This paper aims at qualitatively describing the development of clean energy technologies in Mexico by using a multi-perspective analytical framework. By integrating a meta-theoretical framework for national energy transitions and core concepts from policy mixes for sustainability transitions literature, a series of stylised facts are developed to qualitatively describe the evolution of clean energy technologies in Mexico from 1879 to 2021. Interactive governance theory is used as an analytical framework to synthesise these storylines by highlighting the role and interactions among technologies, actors, and policy instruments in governance processes. The case study revealed that the ever-growing electricity demand in Mexico have called for exploring different available energy sources and technologies over time. Diminishing oil and gas domestic reserves, increasing concerns around environmental issues, and worldwide agreements on greenhouse gas emission reductions have been the main drivers for clean energy and energy efficiency development in Mexico. However, different barriers to a clean energy transition in Mexico have been identified and discussed in this study: (1) access to a vast oil and gas resources in the past reinforced the position of fossil-fuel incumbent regimes, displacing clean energy technological niches; (2) lack of investment in clean energy research, development, and innovation; (3) policy paradigms have shifted based on (dynamic) societal needs and socio-political interests in favour of fossil fuel power generation. To overcome these barriers and allow a transition towards a clean energy electricity system in Mexico, multiple policy instruments have been identified and discussed. • The paper describes the evolution of clean energy technologies in Mexico. • A multi-perspective analytical framework is used to create micro-logics. • The interactive governance approach is used to synthesise these micro-logics. • Barriers and drivers for a clean energy transition in Mexico are discussed. • Energy policy mixes towards a clean energy transition are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the opportunities and challenges of public space management (PSM) in the Mexican context by analysing the perspectives of different governance actors. Issues in the PSM literature include ineffective political decisions, prevalence of the private sector, lack of coordination between government institutions, and a need for more effective social participation. While most PSM studies focus on European cities, empirical PSM knowledge in the Latin American context is scarce. To address this gap, this research elucidates the Mexican context by investigating and adapting a PSM framework in Mexico City and Puebla. The case study research is based on qualitative document research and interview analysis from four groups of governance actors: government officials, academics, NGOs, and architecture/urban planning firms. We found multiple PSM challenges: uncoordinated efforts in the maintenance of public space, lack of and polarisation of investment, and privatisation of public space. At the intra-governmental level, the research identified a lack of coordination between government institutions, increasing reliance on the private sector, and limited opportunities for residents to participate in PSM processes. The paper highlights missing links between existing governance actors involved in PSM and wider residents, in the pursuit of the ambitious role of achieving public space quality. • Public Space Management theory contrasts with the reality in the Mexican context. • Governments rely on the private sector for the development of public spaces. • Limited opportunities for local residents to participate in Public Space Management processes • Awareness is needed among governance actors on the management of public spaces. • Lack of transparency in publicly available data affects how public spaces are managed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Case study on smallholder agrobiodiversity and drug crops in Oaxaca, Mexico. • Drug and food crops complement each other until a threshold of violence is crossed. • Crop specialization tends to favor violence-driven abandonment of agriculture. • Crop/livelihood diversification reduces peasants' exposure and sensitivity to violence. • Organized, militarized, and diversified peasants mitigate violent agrarian change. Drawing on political-ecological vulnerability theory, this paper analyzes the impact of illegal-drug cultivation and its related violence on smallholder agrobiodiversity in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Oaxaca is a global agrobiodiversity hotspot where cannabis and opium poppy have been widely cultivated for decades. The study is based on 76 structured/semi-structured interviews with imprisoned farmers, harvest gatherers, and former soldiers in four state prisons. Results show that illegal-drug crops and native-food crops complement each other until a threshold of violence is crossed, which leads to the abandonment of agriculture due to murder, imprisonment, and out-migration. The specialization of smallholder agriculture in illegal-drug crops tends to favor crossing the threshold of violence. In most municipalities in this study, however, rather a diversification process took place in which illegal-drug crops were incorporated to food production systems, reducing both the exposure and the sensitivity of smallholders to structural and direct violence. Other adaptation strategies involved local organization and militarization of smallholders for collective-risk management and territorial control. Ultimately, by comparing five vulnerability scenarios, this paper argues that the combination of peasant organization, militarization, and crop/livelihood diversification in Oaxaca mitigates the violent agrarian change associated with this illegal economy, while conserving agrobiodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In their paper: U–Pb geochronology of intrusive rocks of northwestern Mesa Central province and Sector Transversal of Sierra Madre Oriental, Mexico: Time and space distribution of inland Cretaceous-Paleogene magmatism during the Mexican orogeny, Díaz-Bravo et al. (2022) present a database of geochronological ages reported in literature and seven generated by themselves, with which they adapt a model of flat-slab subduction to explain the geographical distribution of the Cretaceous-Paleogene magmatism in north-central Mexico. In our opinion, the paper contains limited bibliographic documentation, since it omits previously published zircon U–Pb ages, whose relationship with the Mexican orogeny has been discussed in several previously published papers. Furthermore, an important approach on the distribution of plutons is that the effects of contractional deformation during pluton emplacement and younger extensional tectonics in the studied area were not evaluated. We propose that the syntectonic relationships with the Mexican Orogeny for some of the plutons imply that the magmas were emplaced in rocks undergoing shortening and eastward-NE translation during the development of the Mexican fold and thrust belt. Therefore, they are not in their original position and must be carefully studied to establish the magmatic model presented in this work. • The Cretaceous plutons in the Mesa Central and Sector Transversal of the Sierra Madre Oriental are syntectonic to the development of the Mexican Fold and Thrust Belt. • The Cretaceous syntectonic plutons are allochthonous, so they do not represent a fixed position to model the subduction angle of the Farallon plate. • Pico de Teyra and El Peñuelo plutons show evidence of mylonitic recrystallization, S-C structures, and cleavage, congruent with northeastward tectonic transport of the Mexican Fold and Thrust Belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates electricity consumption and subsidies for each of the Mexican households surveyed in the ENCEVI and the ENIGH in 2018. Using information from the Mexican Utility Federal Electricity Commission (CFE, Comisión Federal de Electricidad), we expand these two datasets into a comprehensive source of electricity consumption for 100,000 households representative of all of Mexico. Our estimates show that large consumers receive large subsidies, with the top 20 % of the highest consuming households receiving 50 % of the subsidies. We also find that electricity consumption is determined by socio-economic status. In the extremely hot region, families in the highest income decile consume 57 %–66 % more than those in the lowest. For this reason, Mexicans in the highest income brackets benefit the most from subsidies; the average subsidy per household for those in the two highest income brackets is almost twice the average subsidy for those in the lowest bracket. • A comprehensive dataset with estimates of electricity consumption and subsidies in the Mexican residential sector was created • The residential electricity consumption in Mexico varies significantly by climatic region, socioeconomic status, and season. • Without subsidies, the electricity burden of households in the lowest income deciles would increase approximately 2.2 times. • Almost forty cents of every dollar spent on electricity subsidies is allocated to households with the highest income quintile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mexicós labor share fell from 1990 to 2015 because of reductions in formal sectors. • Stagnant productivity in the self-employment sectors held real formal wages back. • With formal wages anchored, formal productivity gains accrued to profits. • Slow economic growth had a crucial role in the decline of the labor share. • A remaining puzzle is why a rising profit share failed to stimulate growth. The paper studies the decline of the labor income share (LIS) in Mexico during the period 1990–2015. The decline is mostly explained by reductions within the economy's major sectors (including manufacturing, tradables, and non-tradables) rather than by a recomposition of value added towards sectors with low labor shares. In contrast to agriculture—where LIS fell due to a shift of labor force from self-employment to wage-employment—in other major areas of the economy the fall in LIS is explained by reductions within the wage-employment sector. Econometric estimations indicate that parallel declines in the wage share and relative productivity of non-tradables and in the US manufacturing labor share all played a large role in the reduction of the manufacturing wage share in Mexico. More generally, the analysis suggests that the lagging productivity of the economy's informal non-tradable sector—itself a reflection of the country's low aggregate rate of economic growth—is a crucial factor in the fall of LIS in the formal sectors. The paper concludes by discussing possible explanations for the paradox of the slow rate of economic growth in Mexico despite the rise in the profit share. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper analyzes how the Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA), Mexico's third most populous urban area, has built up resilience to flash floods over time. • For metropolises like Monterrey that contribute significantly to their national economy, increasing their urban resilience to floods clearly is a matter of national interest. • The case of the MMA illustrates that increasing urban resilience is an achievable goal; moreover, the process is comprehensible although its complex nature precludes simple explanations. • Beyond the five basic questions of resilience for whom, what, when, where and why lie three major ones, which are often not dealt with in the literature or in practice: how, at what cost and who finances. • Knowledge co-production reveals its own complexities and dependence on local social capital and the wider national governance architecture. In 2010, flash floods triggered by Hurricane Alex caused fifteen fatalities in the Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA). In contrast, an estimated 225 people died in the 1988 Hurricane Gilbert disaster and reputedly, over 5,000 in the historical flood of 1909. The magnitude of hurricane-related impacts thus appears to be decreasing, indicating higher resilience to this hazard. This paper analyses the process of building resilience to flash floods in the MMA over the last several decades. Knowledge co-production plays a significant role in that process, particularly through the Nuevo Leon State Reconstruction Council, the multi-institutional, public-private-civil group of stakeholders established to guide and coordinate reconstruction efforts following the Hurricane Alex disaster. Findings reveal a complex, protracted and incremental resilience building process, conditioned by the nature of the hazard (infrequent but liable to cause significant damages) and contingent upon the city's socioeconomic and institutional local context. This local context is embedded in a highly fragmented national water governance architecture that lacks inter-institutional co-ordination and has limited the city's adaptive responses. Despite definite gains in building resilience, the city faces challenges notably in terms of the conservation and continuing development of knowledge co-produced in the aftermath of disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Federal active-transport planning is a nascent policy field meriting comparison. • Canada offers active-transport funding but lacks equity focus in road-safety vision. • The U.S. offers broad-based funding, but risks deprioritizing active transport. • Mexico lacks infrastructure funding but leads in human-rights approach. • Federal governments continue to prioritize funding for motor-vehicle infrastructure. Federal governments across North America are increasingly working to scale up active-transport investments to harmonize policy efforts aimed at addressing intersecting urban, environmental, and public-health problems. While such policies promise to provide increased support for cycling, walking, and other active mobilities, the extent to which central-government interventions can foster wide-reaching and equitable infrastructure transitions remains an open question. This paper offers a comparison of recent federal policy initiatives aimed at supporting the development of active-transport facilities across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Using a comparative content-analysis approach, we analyse federal active-transport strategies in terms of policy development, goals, instruments, as well as social-equity and road-safety considerations. Findings indicate that policy instruments, development resources, and social-equity mechanisms vary considerably between the three countries. While Canada's recent policies offer targeted project funding for active transport, its national road-safety vision lacks attention to social equity concerns. The United States' policies emphasize large-scale infrastructure transitions, but risk deprioritizing active-transport projects within wider investments. Mexico's new mobility and road safety law lacks infrastructure funding but leads in its human-rights approach. While these variances can be attributed to specific differences between national contexts, we posit that they also provide insights into shared challenges and opportunities in federal efforts aimed at providing comprehensive support for active-transport systems. Through a systematic content analysis of recent policies, this paper aims to provide an exploratory assessment of how federal governments are mobilizing diverse approaches to active-transport policymaking and to contribute to multi-scalar theorizing on transport equity and mobility justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The city of Zamora is situated in a tectonic basin and, according to previous interferometric studies, has been experiencing sinking up to 13 cm/yr (2007-2011). Although the reported subsidence pattern (WNW-ESE) is similar to the orientation of the regional fault system, there is a lack of detailed studies to establish the connection between this phenomenon, the thickness of sediments, and the basement geometry. Therefore, this paper presents a 3D deformation velocity field analysis for the period of 2014–2021, using 130 images from the Sentinel-2 satellite to calculate the vertical and east-west components of the subsidence. Likewise, a campaign of 28 Transient Electromagnetic soundings was carried out around the city to determine the thickness of sediments and bedrock geometry. The results of the interferometric analysis reveal a WNW-ESE sinking pattern with the maximum vertical velocities observed near the Zamora Museum, amounting to 108 mm/yr (2014–2017) and 102 mm/yr (2018–2021). Meanwhile, the horizontal component has a heterogeneous behavior in both periods with rates reaching up to 1 cm/year. The Transient Electromagnetic survey results show the presence of two grabens, a horst, and a series of half-grabens. The thickness of sediments varies between 94 and 314 m, with the latter corresponding to the main graben located beneath the city. The axis of this structure and the largest sediment deposits are linked to the area of maximum sinking and the spatial pattern of subsidence. • Subsidence has a WNW-ESE spatial pattern. • Maximum vertical velocities were 108 mm/yr (2014–2017) and 102 mm/yr (2018–2021). • Two grabens, a horst, and a series of half-grabens are below Zamora City. • Sediment thickness varies between 94 and 314 m. • Maximum sinking and the spatial pattern of subsidence coincide with the main graben. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducts a comprehensive long-run analysis of the global spatial concentration and locational dynamics of manufacturing agglomerations in Mexico. While prior research on Mexico has examined the impact of trade liberalisation on processes of regional convergence or divergence, effects on the scale, location and dynamics of agglomerations and local specialisation remain underexplored. To address this gap in the literature, we use a newly-collated municipality-level dataset containing more granular data distinct from more frequently used state-level data. Our analysis spans the period 1950–2019, capturing the full extent of the growing importance of the manufacturing sector and providing a nuanced perspective on the evolution of agglomerations and local specialisation patterns. We investigate shifts in agglomeration during import substitution and following the introduction of trade liberalisation, examining whether new agglomerations emerged or existing ones attracted further economic activity and how these changes impacted local specialisation. In extension, we also examine recent trends, assessing the persistence or alteration of agglomeration dominance in the north of the country. In doing so, our analysis provides valuable insights into the intricate dynamics of agglomerations and local specialisation and their significance in shaping regional disparities. • Analysis of municipality manufacturing agglomerations in Mexico 1950-2019. • Import substitution is characterised by decreasing levels of global agglomeration and specialisation. • Recent decades are characterised by substantial increases of global agglomeration and specialisation. • Manufacturing has become increasingly concentrated in several core agglomerations. • Changing levels of agglomeration and local specialisation have clear implications for regional disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of hydrogen is increasing in many countries due to potential decarbonization and sustainable energy transition projects. Hydrogen is shown to be a versatile transition alternative in different applications, with an increasing trend towards clean alternatives with better performance improving the existing processes. This paper reviews (i) the international panorama of hydrogen production, (ii) the main alternatives for hydrogen production in Mexico, and (iii) the applications of hydrogen in various areas. The challenges and opportunities for the coming years to include and introduce the use of hydrogen in new and existing processes in Mexico are also analyzed. A great variety of alternatives to procedure hydrogen both in Mexico and on the international scenes are analyzed, contemplating different production mechanisms. Many of them are found to require further studies to make them profitable for industrial applications. Some challenges and opportunities are also analyzed, showing the importance of synchronizing the public-private partnership agenda on hydrogen production, and to provide the most favorable conditions for investment attraction and development. This review shows that Mexico has the opportunity to make a decisive incursion into hydrogen production. [Display omitted] • Hydrogen has great potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. • Partly due to its geography, Mexico can employ diverse methods to produce hydrogen. • Mexico's geographic location creates a large potential market for hydrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• β-convergence in energy consumption per capita across Mexican states is studied. • Financial crisis and energy reform pre—and post—periods are examined. • Aftermath periods of both the crisis and reform vanish the convergence patterns. • Both absolute and conditional β-convergence in per capita energy consumption exist. • OLS and spatially dynamic models are used to control for spatial correlation. • Higher catch-up faced by least developed economies is found through spatial models. • There is evidence in favor of a curve of efficient energy development (CEED). This paper examines the convergence of energy consumption per capita (ECPC) in the 32 Mexican states from 2002 to 2017. Regardless of the recent Global Financial Crisis and Mexican Energy Reform, we first find evidence of a positive, increasing, and statistically significant spatial correlation of ECPC across states. Using cross-section and spatial dynamic econometric models, we document absolute and conditional β -convergence in ECPC during the pre-crisis, pre-Energy Reform, post-Energy Reform, and the whole study period. We report stable and larger convergence rates in spatial dynamic models, close to 20%, versus 3% without spatial effects. These figures suggest between-states relationships are crucial in Mexico. We also find an inverted U-shape relationship between ECPC and GDP per capita. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Technological Innovation System successfully used for developing country context to evaluate the resilience of the two renewable energy technologies amid changing political context. • Mexico's renewable energy technology innovation system reveals weakening impacts from a shift in government policies. • Solar PV and geothermal technology innovation systems show resilience towards barriers set forth by changing government policies. This paper evaluates the impact of changes in Mexican energy policies on the Mexican innovation systems ability to support renewable energy technologies, through a comparative case study on geothermal and solar photovoltaic technologies. The study examines the effectiveness of government policy in each case by exploring how changes in policy have affected the development of their respective innovation systems. The analysis is facilitated by a technology innovation system framework. The main source of data is primary data from an online survey of 61 experienced energy experts in Mexico in 2019, complemented with desktop research. Results suggest that changes in government priorities have a strong influence on the development of these two technologies. The development of these technologies in Mexico is determined by their innovation systems resilience and adaptability to the changing policy landscape. Policy instruments that encourage knowledge formation serve as critical for the continued development of renewable energy technologies in Mexico. This study contributes to the literature on innovation systems in Mexico, on comparing two renewable energy technologies, and on developing countries policy and innovation contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2.2 proposes ending stunting and wasting in children under five years of age by 2025. In Mexico, progress in the reduction of stunting has slowed in the 21st century. One of the challenges in tackling stunting is that it has become more concentrated in certain areas, but there are no data detailing its precise location. This paper produces the first small-area estimates of stunting for the Mexican municipalities by applying a hierarchical Bayesian estimator using data from a nationally representative survey (ENSANUT 2012, in Spanish) and the sample of the National Housing and Population Census 2010. The findings suggest the existence of large within-state differences in the prevalence of stunting and that this phenomenon is highly spatially clustered. The paper also illustrates the value of the small-area stunting estimates by performing a spatial analysis on the relationship between stunting and food insecurity at the municipal level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the experiences of adolescents from mixed migratory status families affected by deportation. We analyze the impacts on their mental and emotional health when they are separated from one parent in the United States, forcibly displaced with another to Oaxaca, and experience the consequences of their deportation in Mexico. We use a qualitative and ethnographic methodology. This paper focuses on data from semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 15 parents who had been deported from the United States and 53 adolescents who moved with them to Mexico. The data was collected between 2018 and 2020. The main findings show the existence of emotions that are sustained in the transnational flow and acquire new nuances upon return. They also show the emergence of new conditions related to family separation, all of which have an impact on the adolescents' well-being and on important areas of their lives, such as education. The research contributes to knowledge in two main ways: 1) it addresses the impacts of parental deportation on the well-being of adolescents in mixed-status families, which have typically focused on children; 2) it studies how parental deportation affects the mental and emotional health of adolescents de facto deported to Mexico, a field still little studied. • De facto deportation has mental health consequences among adolescents. • The forced nature of de facto deportation produces helplessness, aggression and anger. • The code of silence associated with deportation generates fear, stress, anxiety. • Ambiguous loss is accentuated at important moments in academic and developmental life. • Family separation and de facto deportation affect school performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexico has learned much from its five decades educating nurses, moving from nurses educated mostly at the technical degree level, to bachelor's degree prepared nurses educated in universities. Several salient lessons have emerged that may prove relevant for other countries seeking to increase their numbers of bachelors prepared nurses. This paper analyzes twenty years of nursing labor market data to highlight where significant social and policy changes helped facilitate increased production of bachelor's degree educated nurses in Mexico. We conducted a two-stages analysis, starting with a descriptive stage and followed by a repeated cross-sectional analysis using data sources generated by the Secretariat of Health and the National Institute of Geography and Statistics. Data from the 2005 to 2019 period were analyzed for trends in production patterns and significant relationships in the labor market. Among Mexican nursing graduates, technical and bachelor nurses compete for employment in healthcare institutions. The public sector has greater success in hiring bachelors prepared nurses, but this varies by type of public sector institution. Technical degree nurses have higher underemployment rates and less job security overall. Private hospitals mainly hire technical degree nurses. The Mexican government not been able to properly regulate neither the production of new graduates nor the accreditation of schools, let alone to align roles according to the graduate's level of education. The success of Mexico in the twenty-first century shows that middle-income countries can increase the production and both private and public sector employment opportunities for nurses educated at both the technical and bachelor's degree level however, labor market challenges persist. The central lesson for other countries is that policies must be revised in order to optimize the use of a more educated nursing workforce. • Observed an increase in the percentage of Mexican nurses with university-level education • The public sector attracts more university educated nurses overall. • University-level education reduces the likelihood of having a low income. • Labor market conditions in the healthcare sector in Mexico had deteriorated, even prior to the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is among the most pressing environmental issues worldwide. Unfortunately, an effective reduction in air pollution remains elusive, and so does the incorporation of scientific evidence into air quality policies. This paper takes seven Mexican cities as study cases to document barriers and opportunities to incorporate scientific evidence into air quality policies. Supported by the Grounded Theory approach, we conduct and analyze interviews to decision-makers, researchers, and representatives of non-governmental organizations involved in programs aiming to improve air quality in Mexico. Findings from this study illustrate differences across cities in the technical capacity to produce evidence, and document barriers shared to incorporate evidence into air quality management – including institutional capacity, interest groups, legal frameworks, and limited knowledge transfer. Opportunities that increase integration of evidence into air quality policies include follow-up programs, guaranteed research funding, contextualizing the topics to be investigated as a public problem, and assigning a crucial role to research so that formal and informal links among decision-makers and scientists are formed and strengthened. • Effective incorporation of evidence in air quality management is still a challenge. • Analysis of the stakeholder's perspective, barriers, and enablers to increase the role of evidence was carried out. • Deficiencies in institutional capacity, limited regulatory framework, particular values, and interests are crucial barriers. • Participatory monitoring, meeting places, follow-up programs, and research networks are enablers to increase evidence use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of qualitative research on new practices (habitus) of researchers in higher education (HE) in Mexico during the pandemic in three institutions in the State of Sonora. The research focused on modified or new practices or habitus during the pandemic, the challenges those scholars faced, and their view on remote scientific production in this period. Bourdieu's concepts of Habitus, Discipline, and Socialization are instrumental in interpreting data. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed using coding and MAXQDA software. The main results refer to the individual, academia, and the constraint to produce knowledge. The results show that for individuals, habitus refers to the care of people. In the face of a health emergency, the focus is on it combined with academic, administrative, and research activities. Such weight is distributed unequally among the female gender; it is about caring for the family, attending research, and more work. In the case of academia, the specific tasks of some disciplines, such as economics, do not present restrictions on productivity, while others do. The regulations of Mexico's National System of Researchers, SNI constitute a rule that constrains researchers. We assume that it is the primary mechanism for evaluating his/her productive habitus. • Scholars had to modify the volume of research they were used to produce (most of them presented a decrease). • Remote work (academic activities overall) was met with hesitation and restraint by most of the participants. • Neither researchers nor institutions were prepared to work remotely. • Higher education institutions should comprehend the need to identify the areas of opportunity to enhance their scholars' production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the complexities of incentive regulation in the context of airport privatization, asymmetric information, and regulatory weakness in a developing country. Using hybrid Dual-Till revenue cap variations of thirty-four concessioned airports in Mexico for the period 2006–2019, we distinguish within and between regulated period effects on productive efficiency. Our findings reveal a dual nature of variations: negative shifts within regulated periods are linked to heightened productive efficiency, whereas positive shifts between regulated periods, particularly during the resetting of caps, arise when projected demand falls short of covering allowed operational and capital expenditures. This discrepancy leads to a decline in productive efficiency. The analysis highlights discernible weaknesses in the regulatory framework such as homogenous expectations of efficiency gains across all airports within regulated periods. Furthermore, strategic behavior by airports emerges, as they opt to defer efficiency enhancements to the initial year of any given regulated period. We discuss regulatory levers to improve the quality of regulation. • Analyses the complexity of airport incentive regulation in practice to achieve allocative and productive efficiencies along with investment. • Illustrates the experience of airport incentive regulation in a developing country. • Explores strategic behavior by airports in the context of asymmetric information and weak institutional conditions. • Identifies regulatory levers to improve the quality of Dual-till revenue cap regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progresa, an anti-poverty conditional cash transfer program, has been a model for similar programs in more than 60 countries. Numerous studies have found positive impacts on schooling, the nutritional and health status of children and adolescents, and household consumption. However, the effects on the health of older adult beneficiaries have been particularly understudied. In this paper we analyze the effects of Progresa on middle-aged and older adult health, focusing on a high prevalence chronic condition: hypertension. Our results show that Progresa had significant benefits in terms of improved hypertension diagnosis and use of treatment drugs. However, we did not find significant changes in uncontrolled hypertension as measured by systolic and diastolic blood pressure biomarkers in household survey data. Thus, while cash transfer programs may facilitate financial access to healthcare visits and the ability to buy prescribed medicines, by itself the program might not improve hypertension outcomes without complementary healthcare system follow-up to ensure dosage titration and medication adherence. • Progresa is a widely replicated anti-poverty conditional cash transfer program. • Analysis of impact of cash transfers on hypertension outcomes of adults 50 and over. • Progresa cash transfers improve diagnosis of hypertension and treatment use. • Improved access does not lower hypertension levels; effective treatment is crucial. • Effects were mainly in non-rural areas, potentially due to better access to care.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geothermal energy is one of the largest renewable energy sources available in Mexico and is the most important non-conventional renewable energy source utilised in this country. It is estimated that Mexico has geothermal reserves of approximately 8000 MWe, which can be implemented for the generation of green hydrogen. The paper focuses on the geothermal energy potential of high-enthalpy resources dominantly found South and Southeast Mexico, through investigations of 12 hot springs, with temperature depths as high as 400 °C in some areas. The utilization of suitable power production equations is further refined using the Monte Carlo Method to optimize the numerical findings of the power potential. Therefore, the Visual Basic Application (VBA) in Microsoft Excel is used through the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) function to code the Volumetric Method Equations. Furthermore, 20,000 iterations are then simulated to produce the minimum and maximum power potential/capacity (MWe), from which 10 % and 90 % confidence intervals are then determined. The study calculates that, considering a production lifetime range of 25 years, a total of 147.57 MWe of geothermal power capacity could be generated across all 12 hot springs in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the introduction of carbon capture and storage (CCS) to Mexico. The gasification technology is presented as a potential alternative to be applied into refinery plants due to high petcoke production. Although economic aspects, such as fuel price and selling CO 2 , are important in the selection of CCS alternatives, there are other limitations, i.e. water availability and space. In March 2014, Mexico launched its CCS technological roadmap. However, an evaluation of the installation of new CO 2 -capture ready power plants was not considered. For that reason, this study could be useful to create a technology roadmap that includes the design of CO 2 capture plants into refineries and how they will have to operate for CO 2 emissions reduction, and taking advantage that most of refineries and petrochemical plants are close to oil fields for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) with CCS was chosen in this paper for power generation using petcoke as feedstock. The emissions of CO 2 in kg/kWh could be reduced by 68%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper illustrates how InSAR alone can be used to delineate potential ground fractures related to aquifer system compaction. An InSAR-derived ground fracturing map of the Toluca Valley, Mexico, is produced and validated through a field campaign. The results are of great interest to support sustainable urbanization and show that InSAR processing of open-access Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data from the Sentinel-1 satellites can lead to reliable and cost-effective products directly usable by cities to help decision-making. The Toluca Valley Aquifer (TVA) sustains the water needs of two million inhabitants living within the valley, a growing industry, an intensively irrigated agricultural area, and 38% of the water needs of the megalopolis of Mexico City, located 40 km east of the valley. Ensuring water sustainability, infrastructure integrity, along with supporting the important economic and demographic growth of the region, is a major challenge for water managers and urban developers. This paper presents a long-term analysis of ground fracturing by interpreting 13 years of InSAR-derived ground displacement measurements. Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) and Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) techniques are applied over three SAR datasets totalling 93 acquisitions from Envisat, Radarsat-2, and Sentinel-1A satellites and covering the period from 2003 to 2016. From 2003 to 2016, groundwater level declines of up to 1.6 m/yr, land subsidence up to 77 mm/yr, and major infrastructure damages are observed. Groundwater level data show highly variable seasonal responses according to their connectivity to recharge areas. However, the trend of groundwater levels consistently range from −0.5 to −1.5 m/yr regardless of the well location and depth. By analysing the horizontal gradients of vertical land subsidence, we provide a potential ground fracture map to assist in future urban development planning in the Toluca Valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the family organization of work in small-scale dairy farms in Mexico. By drawing attention to the division of labour by sex, the paper explores how gender norms and tradition interplay with economic interests of profitability in defining who is able and accountable to perform each task. The article builds on ethnographic research in family dairy farms in Los Altos de Jalisco (Jalisco Highlands), Mexico. Based on qualitative data collected by in-depth interviews, focus groups and observation, the analysis focused on the division of labour by sex and age in the dairy, the fields, and the house. Findings suggest that family well-being emerges as a significant criterion in the allocation of tasks. The production of goods and services and the production of life convey in a unified process that overlap functions of the farm, containing productive activities, and the house, as the realm of the reproduction of life. Welfare emerges as a legitimate element for the analysis of the family economy, downplaying profit maximization and self-interest as the sole elements in decision making. • The division of labour in family dairy farms is influenced by global economics. • The dairy economy in Western Mexico relies on unpaid work for its survivance. • The division of labour in family dairy farms remains gender-specific and hierarchical. • The family organisation of labour blends productive and reproductive domains. • Self and collective well-being is an axis element in economic decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Rejects Maslow's assumption that needs are satisfied sequentially. • Shows that income is relevant in the satisfaction of physiological needs, but not of safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization needs. • Shows that the satisfaction of love and belonging and of esteem needs contributes the most to people's well-being. • Proposes a life-satisfaction enhancing path in the satisfaction of needs. • Argues for holding an integrated view of human beings, as well as for following a balanced strategy in the satisfaction of their needs. Maslow's needs theory proposes a hierarchy of needs and argues for their sequential satisfaction. The theory has been very influential in development studies, in the establishment of development priorities, in the design of policies and social programs, and in the role economic growth plays as central development instrument. This paper relies on a large and representative database from Mexico to empirically test four assumptions which are commonly associated to Maslow's theory: that needs are satisfied sequentially, that income is a relevant resource in the satisfaction of relevant needs, that the hierarchy of needs is associated to their well-being contribution, and that Maslow's proposed sequential path in the satisfaction of needs -beginning with the satisfaction of physiological ones and ending with the satisfaction of self-actualization ones- is the best possible one. Data on satisfaction of needs is used to address the first two assumptions, while a subjective well-being approach is used to deal with the last two assumptions. The four assumptions are rejected. In consequence, it is possible to think about strategies in the satisfaction of needs that do not follow the sequential satisfaction proposed by Maslow and which question the hierarchical order he proposed. The paper highlights the relevance of the needs of love and belonging and of esteem, and it argues for an integrated view of human beings and of their needs, as well as for following a balanced strategy in their satisfaction. Implications for development studies and for the design of sustainable development strategies and social programs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to evaluate the prevalence of REs in a clinic from Aguascalientes, Mexico by analysing clinical records from the local public health system. Refractive errors (REs) are quite common globally, but no data have been published regarding their frequency in clinics from Mexico. A priori, the frequency of ametropias should be high as admixture ancestry from this region is mainly European and Amerindian, the regions with high prevalence worldwide. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 2195 subjects from records of public optometry services during the year 2018. Information obtained included age, gender, sphere, cylinder and axis. The prevalence of myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism was determined by gender and age groups in paediatric and adult patients. Chi-square testing was applied to determine significant differences in prevalence across age groups and gender. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. In subjects under 18 years of age, the prevalence of emmetropia, astigmatism, myopia and hyperopia was 20.1%, 51.1%, 7.0% and 11.8%, respectively. In adults, emmetropia was present at a frequency of 20.1%, while 57.1% presented astigmatism, 12.4% hyperopia and 8.6% presented myopia. A significant association was observed between the presence of REs and age and gender. In this first report of prevalence of REs from western Mexico, astigmatism was the most prevalent RE in children, adolescents and adults while the least common was myopia. Important differences were found in prevalence in comparison to national and international reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexico is an important iron and steel manufacturer; it is the 13th largest steel producer in the world. The Mexican iron and steel industry is first in energy consumption for industrial energy use, representing 14.3% of the total industrial final energy consumption and a similar share of related carbon dioxide emissions. The aim and novelty of this paper is to estimate both the energy intensity and CO 2 intensity of the Mexican iron and steel industry in 2010 based on defined system boundaries and an international comparison methodology and to compare the energy intensity of Mexican with those the US and China based on a literature review. The boundaries consider energy consumption for all coke making, pelletizing, sintering, iron making, steel making, steel casting, hot rolling, cold rolling, and processing, such as galvanizing or coating. They also include energy use for net imported pig iron, direct-reduced iron, pellets, lime, oxygen, ingots, blooms, billets, and slabs. Under these boundary conditions, the Mexican iron and steel industry was shown to be more energy efficient and less carbon intense than those the U.S. and China. The reasons for this efficiency are mainly the large shares of the electric arc furnace route (69.4%) and continuous casting (100%) in production and the large share of natural gas in the fuel mix. This paper highlights the importance of the definition of boundaries and clear methodologies to analyse the iron and steel energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper forms part of a major health needs assessment research project of small-scale subsistence farming households in three relatively impoverished villages located close to an active volcano (Popocatépetl) in the rural hinterland of the town of Atlixco, Puebla, Mexico. Our overarching research question is: how do housing conditions, the micro-environment of the lot and dwelling, air and water quality, patterns of food preparation and household behaviors impact health and wellbeing in each community? We use a mixed-methods strategy starting with a survey of almost 250 households to generate baseline data on the health status, treatment, and perceptions of health in each of the four communities. Our housing and health assessment also focusses upon the dwelling structure and perceived problems such as damp and pests; the use of rooms and yard space; and on-site environmental sampling of the water and air quality. In addition, we apply an intensive case-study methodology to five purposively selected farming households in order to highlight how different dwelling structures and conditions, room use, lot maintenance and organization, practices of animal husbandry, fertilizer and agrochemical storage, open fire cooking with wood, and other behaviors shape and impact health and wellbeing. Our findings and conclusions emphasize the need for further research to better understand the epidemiology of these and similar communities. We conclude by offering a series of policy actions to mitigate the risks and hazards that we identify, and argue that in these rural communities the intersections between housing, home, and yard management presents hazards and challenges to health outcomes that are more dynamic and more volatile, than those of most urban housing environments. • Health Needs Assessment. • Intensive Case Study Methodology. • Village Communities in Puebla, Micro-environmental impacts upon health. • Air Quality. • Housing and Health Improvement Policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The El Chango quarry is an outstanding paleontological site of Mexico. The marine limestones of this site represent a small outcrop of the Cintalapa Formation and bear a significant assemblage of Early Cenomanian continental plants plus marine crustaceans, decapods, mollusks, and fishes. This paper includes the description of a double-armored herring species from El Chango, which is named Thorectichthys fideli and belongs to the family Paraclupeidae, in the order Ellimmichthyiformes. This new species shares the diagnostic generic features with T. marocensis and T. rhadinus , two slightly younger North African species previously discovered in Cenomanian–Turonian deposits of the Akrabou Formation, Morocco. The new species has a couple of peculiar features never before observed in the ellimmichthyiforms; the caudal skeleton of this fish has four uroneurals, and the horizontal limb of the preopercle is dorsally notched allowing the superficial lateral exposure of a broad and massive posterior process of the quadrate. Including this species in a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis confirms the monophyletic nature of Thorectichthys and its inclusion as a basal clade of the family Paraclupeidae. Thorectichthys fideli sp. nov. adds to an increasing assemblage of Mexican Cretaceous ellimmichthyiforms that includes ancestral as well as more derivatives species that shows the broad Albian–Cenomanian distribution of the ellimmichthyiforms, along the epicontinental environments of the Tethys Sea. • First record of Thorectichthys from Early Cenomanian outcrop in America, the third species of and oldest one. • Phylogenetic analysis recovery to Thorectichthys as a monophyletic genus. • Their discovery reinforces the link between Morocco and the Cintalapa Formation faunas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mosasauridae underwent a major radiation early in the Late Cretaceous, with the subfamilies Plioplatecarpini and Tylosaurini appearing in the Turonian. Here we report an almost complete mosasaur skull assigned to the plioplatecarpine genus Yaguarasaurus. The specimen was discovered southwest of Vallecillo in the northeastern Mexico state of Nuevo Leon, about 80 km north of Monterrey, in a laminated limestone layer of the upper member of the Agua Nueva Formation (Upper Turonian - ?Lower Coniacian). The specimen is referred to as a new species, Y. regiomontanus. This is the first report of Yaguarasaurus from Mexico and the most complete of the Americas. At roughly 5 m in length, it is one of the earliest large mosasaurids. Along with Yaguarasaurus columbianus , Russellosaurus coheni , and an unnamed plioplatecarpine from Texas, it documents the rapid diversification and expansion of plioplatecarpines in the marine realm in the Turonian. • The Highlight of the paper is that is a new species of mosasaurus described for Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the impact of stress in the global supply chains on inflation and monetary policy in Mexico, a representative emerging market economy. Using non-linear local projections, we estimate the degree of monetary policy tightening required in a high-stress supply chain environment and compare it to that in a low-stress environment. We instrument the monetary policy shocks with shocks to the federal funds rate. Results suggest that in a high-stress regime, the effect of an increase in the monetary policy interest rate on inflation over a one-year period is reduced considerably. We argue that this reduction is due to the slow response of inflation expectations to a monetary policy tightening in a high-stress regime. Furthermore, raising the interest rate has an effect on producer price inflation, a channel that is absent in a low-stress regime. This finding highlights the role of monetary policy in stabilizing inflation when facing supply shocks that are not necessarily permanent. • Stress in the global supply chain has a non-linear effect on inflation. • Monetary policy channels are affected in a representative emerging market economy. • Evidence from Mexico shows monetary policy tightening should be considerably larger. • Monetary policy should react to temporary supply shocks. • Non-linear local projections are used; shock identification via instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In Mexico, there have been no documented outbreaks of west nile virus. Nonetheless, its presence has been detected in numerous reptiles, mammals, birds, and humans in 17 states (out of 32). • Different theories have been proposed in order to explain the absence of WN cases. However, in regions such as the U.S.-Mexico border, the hypotheses may not be sufficient to explain the absence of WNV outbreaks. • The entomological perspective may contribute to explaining the low number of WN cases and detecting risk areas. • A comprehensive entomo-virological surveillance program for WNV and mosquito ensemble community studies in urban and rural areas, specifically aedes and culex spp., may provide insight into the actual prevalence of the virus and risk in mexico. Since 2002, West Nile Virus (WNV) has been reported in 18 states in Mexico, either by PCR or serological testing. However, it is believed that the virus is present in more states. Only four states (out of 32) have reported confirmed human cases, and one state has serological evidence. In the country, WNV is present in mainly horses and birds, but its presence extends to crocodiles, felines, canines, swines, donkeys, caprines, antilopes, cattle, bats, and camelids. Positive mosquito species include Aedes and Culex spp. Different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the absence of WNV epidemics in Latin America. Since some regions of Mexico and the United States share ecological and climatic conditions, these hypotheses may not be sufficient to account for the absence of WNV outbreaks or epidemics. This paper discusses the proposed ideas and attempts to contextualize them for Mexico, particularly for the U.S.-Mexico border, where WNV infections have been reported in humans, horses, and mosquitoes. We propose that integration of urban ecology and entomology knowledge is needed to better understand the absence of WN cases in Mexico. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the social implications of wind energy from four points of view: socio-environmental, socio-economic, socio-cultural, and stakeholder’s involvement, and analyzes wind power projects in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico, alongside the background of the literature review. Local economy, geographic conditions, culture, and stakeholders are fundamental when planning a wind project. Technology implementation for sustainable development must recognize the importance of reducing emissions and other environmental impacts, and maximizing socio-economic benefits. The aim of this paper is to review social implications of wind energy, with special emphasis on a disadvantaged region in Mexico, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, with some of the world׳s highest wind energy potential, but one of the poorest areas in the country and with a large indigenous population. Wind energy development in Mexico has been complex and contentious; the large increase of wind energy in Oaxaca has created social conflicts in Oaxaca, which even might stop further wind project development in the region. Ultimately, local communities need to be considered in the planning and development process of wind power worldwide and the Mexican case shows the need for a national and regional policy, and a comprehensible on-site participatory planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The transboundary nature of water dividing Mexico and the United States (U.S.) transforms the entire border region into an instrument of cooperation, a source of conflict, a national security issue, and an environmental concern. Reasonable data collection and research analysis have been conducted for surface waters by joint governmental institutions and non-governmental bodies. However, with the exception of the U.S. Transboundary Assessment Act Program (TAAP) (focusing on the Hueco Bolson, Mesilla Bolson, San Pedro and Santa Cruz aquifers), there is no comparable research, institutional development, or assessment of transboundary groundwater issues on the frontier. Moreover, data collection and methodologies vary between the two countries, there is no broadly accepted definition of the transboundary nature of an aquifer, and available legal and policy frameworks are constrained by non-hydrological considerations. Hence, there is a conceptual and institutional void regarding transboundary groundwater resources between Mexico and the U.S. The purpose of this paper is to bridge this void and characterize transboundary aquifers on the Mexico–US border. It reviews existing international frameworks for identifying hydrological and social criteria that characterize an aquifer as transboundary. It then assesses data from both countries to propose where and which aquifers could be considered transboundary. Finally, the paper proposes an agenda for assessing Mexico–US transboundary aquifers as a means for improving groundwater management in the border region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Mexico, institutional care is the most widely used out-of-home placement resource for children who have been either abandoned by their parents or removed from their families to protect them from harm. Currently there are over 29,000 children and adolescents placed in approximately 725 institutions in Mexico. However, little is known about the perspectives of young people about their lives in this setting. We set out to explore young people's descriptions of their lived experience of everyday life in one institutional care setting in Mexico, with a focus on their daily activities and their relationships to significant others. Multiple qualitative methods (adapted Photovoice, mapping and focus groups) were used by researchers from both Mexico and Sweden. In this paper, we explore and analyze their experiences of being ‘almost home’ and living in an ‘almost family’. Life in the institution could be characterized as a highly structured, total institution wherein young people looked for ways to take control over times and places. It was safe but not quite home. Life was also strongly connected to stigma. Although in long-term placements, they refused to be labeled ‘orphans’. The stigma of being called orphans and living in the confines of the institution was countered by the young people's descriptions of importance of feeling safe, being adequately supported and cared for, having a sense of comfort and normality where they are living, and having emotional connections to those they live with. Being listened to and having a say in decisions related to their lives were also strongly recurrent themes in our study. This paper concludes with a discussion of implications for practice with children and youth in institutional care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Final fragmentation of Rodinia occurred during the Ediacaran Period as Amazonia, Baltica and Laurentia drifted apart to form the Iapetus Ocean. Accompanying rift-related mafic dyke swarms of the Central Iapetus Magmatic Province (CIMP) were emplaced between 0.62 and 0.55 Ga, which are preserved in Laurentia and Baltica, whereas no coeval mafic rocks are known from Amazonia. First evidence for the CIMP extending into Oaxaquia (Rodinia-type basement of Mexico) was reported as tholeiitic dykes that intruded the Novillo gneiss, NE Mexico, at 619 ± 9 Ma. In Chiapas, SE Mexico, amphibolite dykes that are chemically similar to the Novillo dykes intruded anorthosite and gneiss. In this paper, a new dating approach to obtain mafic dyke intrusion ages is presented by targeting contact metamorphic zircon with the U Pb method, employing Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry. Zircon that crystallized in anorthosite at intrusive contacts to mafic dykes and at temperatures exceeding 700 °C (Ti-in-zircon thermometry) yields ages between 615 ± 7 Ma and 608 ± 12 Ma, reflecting the time of dyke intrusion. Zircon chemical and isotopic (Hf, O) characteristics suggest a diachronous sequence of metamorphic processes involving Zr release from Fe Ti oxides, breakdown and recrystallization of other phases, and fluid-mitigated reactions during Ordovician metamorphism. Zircon δ18O values of granulites from Oaxaquia range from +6.2‰ to +9.8‰, whereas Tonian (~0.92 Ga) metamorphic zircon from SE Chiapas yielded low δ18O values from +2.0‰ to +2.8‰ that are explained by the reactivation of major tectonic boundaries during Tonian gravitational collapse. The observations increase the known extent of the CIMP in Mexico, suggesting that a Neoproterozoic superplume was still active during the Early Ediacaran producing a Large Igneous Province that extended over Amazonia, Baltica and Laurentia. The results further suggest that Oaxaquia at the northern edge of Amazonia formed the conjugate margin of Baltica during rifting. Unlabelled Image • Neoform zircon in anorthosite reveals the age of mafic dykes at intrusive contacts. • Dyke swarms in Chiapas suggest Large Igneous Province in NW Amazonia at ca. 615 Ma. • Oaxaquia was possibly the conjugate margin of Baltica during Rodinia breakup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A method for optimising cleaning schedules in photovoltaic systems is developed. • It minimises the levelised cost of energy and is applied to central Mexico. • Residential and commercial systems should be cleaned once per year in the region. • Utility-scale systems can be cleaned each 12–31 days as a function of cleaning costs. • A comparative analysis to other existing methods for the same case study is done. In this paper, the soiling impact on photovoltaic systems in Aguascalientes, in central Mexico, an area where 1.4GWp of new photovoltaic capacity is being installed, is characterised experimentally. A soiling rate of −0.16%/day in the dry season for optimally tilted crystalline silicon modules, and a stabilization of the soiling losses at 11.2% after 70 days of exposure were observed. With these data, a first of its kind novel method for determining optimum cleaning schedules is proposed based on minimising the levelised cost of energy. The method has the advantages compared to other existing methods of considering the system investment cost in the determination of the optimum cleaning schedule. Also, it does not depend on economic revenue data, which are often subject to uncertainty. The results show that residential and commercial systems should be cleaned once per year in Aguascalientes. On the other hand, cleaning intervals from 12 to 31 days in the dry season were estimated for utility-scale systems, due to the dramatic decrease of cleaning costs per unit photovoltaic capacity. We also present a comparative analysis of the existing criteria for optimising cleaning schedules applied to the same case study. The different methods give similar cleaning intervals for utility-scale systems and, thus, the choice of a suitable method depends on the availability of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a perspective on urban power using the Gramscian concept of hegemony. In particular it focuses, on the coercion–consensus binary encompassed by the concept. The discussion is framed within Mexico’s national security policy and reforms that feed into its war on drugs. It is argued that the militarization of the police illustrates the violent coercion of the State, whereas the concept of citizen security illustrates the consensual side of the hegemonic binary. Based on previous debates, the paper argues that unpacking coercion into its different types is important in acknowledging the role of the bureaucrat within the study of (urban) security. Through the understandings built between local bureaucrats (beyond police forces) and citizens, it is argued that the ’complicit’ and ’neglecting’ types of coercion may work as mechanisms that undermine the consensual discourse of citizen security and its implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This paper is the first to draw a global picture of worldwide microfinance equity by taking full advantage of daily quoted prices. We revisit previous findings showing that investors should consider microfinance as a self-standing sector. Our results are threefold. First, microfinance has become less risky and more closely correlated with the financial sector. This convergence might be followed by a decline in the proportion of women borrowers. Second, microfinance and finance shares have equivalent currency exposure. Last, introducing a self-standing microfinance sector presents few diversification benefits. This paper confirms that microfinance has changed dramatically during the last decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon forestry has become a cornerstone of attempted climate change mitigation in developing countries. As such, dozens of projects have been developed to supply carbon offsets to both voluntary and regulated carbon markets. In this paper we shed further light on the effects of such projects on communities and households by studying the implementation of a carbon forestry project in four communities in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. The project pays farmers to carry out a number of tree-planting activities depending on the local agro-ecological systems. We investigate how such activities have been promoted in and adopted by communities and we identify a series of community-based, institutional, resource management and asset-related factors that explain farmers’ willingness to participate in the projects. Our analysis highlights a number of shared motivations for joining the project but varied levels of understanding about the project rationale. We also show how community norms, access to land tenure, financial and physical assets differ among participants and non-participants which translates in increasing inequalities in access to income and to other development projects. However, we also demonstrate that project activities, as currently designed, motivate some farmers to participate because of the potential of the project to act as a mechanism to bridge existing social divides through cooperation in the project and therefore financially and politically benefit from participation. Overall, the paper demonstrates that the project contributes to transforming local livelihoods and institutions, unfortunately not always as originally designed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a convergence analysis of productivity growth in the manufacturing sector in Mexico using regional data from the National Economic Census 1999 and 2004. The absolute convergence analysis indicates that regional productivity growth follows a slow convergence trajectory. However, a conditional convergence analysis indicates that current productivity gaps can be directly attributed to divergences in the industrial profile of the regional economy as well as to differences in infrastructure endowments. The results of the paper suggest that the productivity gaps which originated from the liberalisation reforms of the 1980s and 1990s will be exhausted in 25 years approximately. The innovation of this paper is the extension of a convergence analysis to the industrial sector. The use of regional data improves the details of the analysis and allows the identification of growth patterns that had not been previously identified. Finally, it applies innovative metrics to model the industrial profile of a region and the value of transport infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a benchmark methodology for building a GIS model of the National Road Network in Mexico. A model of the road network is useful because it can help to calculate the shortest route between any two locations linked to the road system. The model estimates an average speed for every section on the network according to its hierarchy, regional location, toll status and administration. Optimal routes can be estimated in terms of a time-minimisation criterion. The paper presents a statistical test that shows that the model's results have a small bias of +6 percent in comparison to observed travel times from the Mexican Ministry of Transport. This bias can be fixed using a linear transformation of estimated travel time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an econometric analysis that compares the performance of different measures of distance in a gravity model using state data for Mexico. The estimation shows that at this geographic scale, the definition of distance does not affect the explanatory power of the model significantly. However, time-based definitions of distance have a marginal improvement on the model fit in comparison to length-based measures. When geographic specific fixed effects are unknown, the model shows that distance measured as road network distance is a better predictor. The paper concludes that time-based definitions of distance present several advantages in comparison to traditional length-based definitions. However, at large geographic scales, where relative distances between every geographic unit are long, the use of length-based distance instead of time-based distance to approximate travel costs generates similar results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The treatment of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) using percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a frequent intervention with a high economic impact. This study investigates the resource use and cost of PCI in Mexico where heart disease is a leading cause of death, and a large segment of the population does not have formal healthcare coverage. This retrospective observational study obtained resource utilization data from patient files and itemized costs from the pharmacy registry at the National Institute of Cardiology. Patients were aged >18 years, diagnosed with ACS, and treated with PCI and secondary prophylaxis with aspirin plus clopidogrel or prasugrel. Patients had a follow-up of >12 months at the institute. Statistical analysis was descriptive. The sample included 156 patients (mean age: 58.66 years; male: 77.9%). Patients were diagnosed with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction, and unstable angina 64.9%, 27.2%, and 7.9%, respectively. The mean (standard deviation [SD]) total medical cost was estimated to be $145 677 ($98 326) Mexican pesos 2018. The highest category of spending was surgical materials (mean [SD]: $47 834 [$32 569], comprising 32.8% of total costs); medications and access to the operating room represented 14.2% and 11.8%, respectively. Mean (SD) hospital stay was 9.07 (6.2) days; for the 11.5% of patients admitted to the intensive care unit, the mean (SD) stay was 4.61 (2.06) days. The mean cost of standard hospitalization was $12 572, or 8.6% of spending; intensive care unit hospitalization comprised 17.7% of total costs (mean: $25 802). The cost of the intervention is subsidized up to 95% for patients with a low social economic status, with the exception of surgical materials such as stents. This results in the highest burden component of the intervention being placed on the patient and not the institute. The mean cost per patient shows that PCI is an expensive procedure in Mexico. A lack of subsidies for surgical equipment places a high economic burden on the patient and represents a barrier of access for a vulnerable population that likely increases mortality and morbidity rates in those patients unable to pay for treatment and a potential high burden of debt for those who do pay. What is already known about the topic? • Clinical characteristics and data of patients with acute coronary syndrome treated with percutaneous coronary intervention in Mexico (National Registry of Acute Ischemic Coronary Syndromes [RENSICA] Registry) were reviewed. The RENASICA I (N = 4253) identifies risk factors and disease prognosis, and RENASICA II (N = 8098) observes therapeutic approaches and hospital outcomes. The RENASICA III (N = 8296) describes patient management and clinical outcomes. • The Mexican Institute of Social Security's diagnosis-related groups estimates the cost of percutaneous coronary intervention. Nevertheless, calculations rely heavily on clinical costs and expert opinion to estimate resource use; it is unclear if patient-level data are used. • Cost estimates and diagnosis-related groups are estimated and published for various countries (eg, the United States and Sweden). What does the paper add to existing knowledge? • This article estimates the mean cost for the average patient treated in the National Institute of Cardiology "Ignacio Chávez," a federally funded hospital where the uninsured population can be treated for a subsidized price. • Cost data are of high quality and were obtained from the pharmacy registry. • Resource utilization shows the differences between treatment at the Mexican Institute of Social Security and at the National Institute of Cardiology "Ignacio Chávez." • Results include the distribution of costs and resource utilization data specific to federally funded hospitals. • The distribution of costs indicates a high proportion dedicated to surgical materials. Subsidies based on socioeconomic class may not extend to the full cost of surgical material, placing a potentially unexpected burden on the patient in the form of out-of-pocket costs. • The high rate of patients treated with a loading dose at admission suggests that patients either had no previous experience with thienopyridines or that their acute coronary syndrome was poorly controlled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Policies can face tradeoffs between minimizing costs and creating local industries. • We explore how tradeoffs are managed in Mexico and South Africa's policy designs. • Distinct development logics led to different renewable energy auction designs. • Calibrations of policy instruments can be a key determinant of policy outcomes. • Well-calibrated local content requirements can help foster local industry. Green industrial policies around renewable energy (RE) are growing increasingly prevalent in emerging economy contexts as a means to foster low-carbon industrialization pathways. However, policymakers often face a tradeoff in their policy designs. In this paper, we focus on the tradeoff between minimizing the cost of low-carbon energy generation to fuel traditional input-intensive industrialization strategies, and implementing potentially costly measures to build local industries around low-carbon energy technologies. Specifically, we utilize the cases of Mexico and South Africa to investigate how each country's distinct prioritization of these two objectives led to a divergence of their RE auction designs and outcomes. Specifically, using data on the involvement of local and foreign actors in Mexican and South African RE projects, policy documents, and interviews with public and private stakeholders in the two countries, we show how each country's policy design shaped RE market and bid price developments, and the formation of local RE value chains. We find that the prioritization of low-cost RE generation can result in a greater reliance on existing foreign value chains and capital, without building the local capabilities that could result in greater long-term benefits for the market. We further discuss the implications of our results for policymakers, focusing on providing recommendations for RE industrial policy design in general, and the calibration of local content incentives in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate and up-to-date mapping of mangrove habitats is crucial for effective conservation and management strategies and policies. As a reply to the comparative assessment realized by Acosta et al. (2023) to the last map produced by the Mexican Mangrove Monitoring System (MMMS) and the conclusions resulting from it, we provide a comprehensive response addressing the concerns raised. We acknowledge that maps are not infallible and are subject to improvement, particularly in the rapidly advancing field of remote sensing technology used in long term monitoring system. The MMMS mapping efforts utilize state-of-the-art remote sensing technologies, such as high-resolution satellite imagery and advanced methodologies, to enhance precision and efficiency. Moreover, MMMS mapping integrates regional external expert knowledge to increase accuracy at uncertain locations. We emphasize the importance of accuracy and reliability in mangrove mapping due to the potential irreversible consequences of mangrove loss. The MMMS provides a valuable tool for monitoring deforestation rates, understanding spatial distribution, supporting management decisions, identifying conservation priorities, and facilitating targeted conservation actions. We highlight the application of the precautionary principle as an environmental imperative for the Mexican government. The inclusion of previously classified " Other wetlands " as mangroves in the MMMS mapping system implies the acknowledgment of their integral role in supporting biodiversity and climate change mitigation efforts. Technological progress and collaborative efforts have made this reclassification possible, enhancing our understanding and expertise in distinguishing mangroves from other wetland types. We conclude that our mapping efforts align with the objective of attaining high classification accuracy in remote sensing, and we remain committed to continuous improvement in our mangrove mapping endeavors. • This paper presents the authors' opinion on the publication of Acosta et al. (2023). • The mapping produced by MMMS integrates the latest advancements in remote sensing technologies along with expert knowledge. • The adaptability of mapping methods plays a key role in ensuring the comparability of results within the MMMS framework. • Accuracy of mangrove mapping is critical in the context of Climate Change and for the development of public policies. • Emphasis is placed on the importance of the precautionary principle on the conservation of mangroves in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]