Resource information
The chapters, or "policy
notes," of this report, creating the foundations for
equitable growth in Mexico 2006-2012, are dedicated to
trying to solve parts of the puzzle as to why Mexico's
level of economic development has failed to approach the
level of its NAFTA trading partners, or the level of a
typical OECD member state. Each chapter of this new report
uses the 2000 policy notes as a reference. In this report,
the authors have tried to be selective on the issues, and
they explored multi-sector issues by joining themes such as
education and labor markets in one chapter, or health and
old age security in a single chapter. In this overview, the
authors set the stage by outlining the common themes and
messages that emerge from the eleven chapters of this
report. There are three themes that are highlighted: 1)
Mexico can do better; 2) Mexico is between two worlds and
there are two worlds within Mexico. Mexico's standards
of living, human and physical capital and institutions are
all quite advanced compared to low income countries or
compared to lower middle income countries in Latin America.
On the other hand, Mexico lags far behind OECD averages.
Within Mexico, there is a further dichotomy due to the high
degree of inequality across individuals and across regions;
3) Policies for equitable growth are the answer. In the
chapters of this report, it is emphasized that institutional
change is the key to improving the regulation and
performance of both the public and private sectors. The
authors also highlight that restructuring government
spending in a variety of sectors-in particular, establishing
a more progressive allocation of spending-would be the key
to initiating a phase of more growth and more equitable
growth. Finally, they note that despite progress in
improving economic and environmental stability in Mexico,
there is still a remaining agenda of reform to assure sustainability.
