Mexico

The report provides a comprehensive picture on the territorial differences in many well-being dimensions across the 31 Mexican states and the Federal District. It represents a sound base for state and local policy makers, political leaders and citizens to better understand people’s living conditions, gauge progress in various aspects of economy and society and use these indicators to improve the design and implementation of policies. It is a part of the 'How’s Life in Your Region?' work produced by the OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate at the behest of the Regional Development Policy Committee.

The New International Airport of Mexico City (NAICM) should position Mexico as a regional hub and improve its competitiveness. It is scheduled to be operational in 2020 in answer to the pressing need for the expansion of the city's airport capabilities. The airport, whose construction is managed by a state-owned entity (GACM), is currently the largest Mexican infrastructure project. A project of this magnitude requires tailored strategic frameworks and actions in several policy areas. Building on international experience, this report provides a comprehensive assessment, and analysis and recommendations in four key dimensions contributing to the effective delivery of large infrastructure projects: governance, procurement, integrity and communication.

This review finds that while Mexico has taken important steps in addressing the urban challenges in the Valle de México, Mexico’s largest metropolitan area, there is a need for major metropolitan governance reform.  Serious urban governance failings are inhibiting adequate responses to critical urban development priorities - regeneration, access to adequate housing, reliable and safe public transport, and environmental protection. Several measures are currently being implemented. However, these tools and reforms will not produce the desired solutions to urban problems in the absence of metropolitan thinking, strategic regional planning, and improved co-ordination and collaboration across levels of government.

In parallel to a sweeping structural reform agenda, Mexico announced in 2013 a new approach to housing and urban policy. Calling for a more explicit qualitative focus on housing and the urban environment, the policy shift is a welcome development. Mexico urbanised more rapidly than most OECD countries in the past half-century, in part as a result of the expansion of housing finance led by INFONAVIT and facilitated by policies aiming to expand access to formal housing. Yet the quantitative push for formal housing came with quantitative costs: inefficient development patterns resulting in a hollowing out of city centres and the third-highest rate of urban sprawl in the OECD; increasing motorisation rates; a significant share of vacant housing, with one-seventh of the housing stock uninhabited in 2010; housing developments with inadequate access to public transport and basic urban services; and social segregation. How can the Mexican authorities 'get cities right' and develop more competitive, sustainable and inclusive cities? How can they improve the capacity of the relevant institutions and foster greater collaboration among them? How can INFONAVIT ensure that its lending activities generate more sustainable urban outcomes as it also fulfils its pension mandate and help Mexicans save more for retirement?

Building on the 2008 OECD Principles for Enhancing Integrity in Public Procurement and good practices of similar organisations in other OECD countries, this review provides a comprehensive assessment of IMSS procurement strategies, systems and processes and proposes a roadmap for the reform of its procurement function.

How can citizens’ health and well-being be improved when public resources are limited? What practices allow hospitals and health clinics to get state of art medical equipment and medicine at the right price? The OECD Procurement Review of the Mexican State’s Employees’ Social Security and Social Services Institute (ISSSTE) looks at the public entity responsible for providing medical and social services to Mexican civil servants. It provides a comprehensive assessment of its procurement function and how to improve it in order to enhance the overall efficiency and transparency of the organisation and the quality of the services it provides. The review builds on the OECD Principles for Enhancing Integrity in Public Procurement, good practices of other health organisations as well as comparative data on public procurement in OECD countries.

Encompassing 39 municipalities in two states, Puebla-Tlaxcala is the fourth-largest metropolitan zone in Mexico. Over the past five decades, the region has successfully attracted major national and international firms, building its reputation as both a manufacturing hub specialising in auto production and one of Mexico’s most important centres of higher education. Yet it also faces important challenges. Compared to other large Mexican metropolitan zones, Puebla-Tlaxcala has a disproportionate share of individuals with low skills, which could represent a bottleneck to future growth. Urban sprawl is another challenge with important economic, environmental and social consequences. Puebla-Tlaxcala's urban footprint expanded nearly eight times faster than its population over the past three decades, contributing to inadequate service provision and high levels of social marginalisation, particularly in the metropolitan periphery. To ensure that the region remains competitive and grows sustainably over the long term, this review recommends (i) improving workforce and economic development outcomes, particularly by raising the level of low-skilled workers; (ii) guiding urban growth more effectively to tackle urban sprawl and improve serve delivery; (iii) and addressing governance challenges by building capacity in the public sector and transitioning to forms of metropolitan governance.