Publications & Documents

International regulatory co-operation (IRC) represents an important opportunity for countries, and in particular domestic regulators, to consider the impacts of their regulations beyond their borders, expand the evidence for decision-making, learn from the experience of their peers, and develop concerted approaches to challenges that transcend borders. This report provides the first OECD assessment of a country’s IRC framework and practices. Mexico’s active efforts to embrace globalisation are reflected in many aspects of its domestic policies, practices and institutions. On one hand, it has undertaken unilateral efforts to embed international considerations in its domestic rule-making through regulatory improvement disciplines and with the consideration of international standards in the drafting of technical regulations. On the other hand, the Mexican government and individual regulators also engage extensively in co-operative efforts on regulatory matters, at the bilateral, regional and multilateral level. Based on the overview of Mexico’s practices and comparison with other OECD countries, the review recommends three areas for improvement: designing a horizontal government-wide strategy for IRC, enhancing information about the tools and benefits of IRC, and offering the necessary tools to support systematic implementation of IRC.

Under Action 14, countries have committed to implement a minimum standard to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the mutual agreement procedure (MAP). The MAP is included in Article 25 of the OECD Model Tax Convention and commits countries to endeavour to resolve disputes related to the interpretation and application of tax treaties. The Action 14 Minimum Standard has been translated into specific terms of reference and a methodology for the peer review and monitoring process. The minimum standard is complemented by a set of best practices. The peer review process is conducted in two stages. Stage 1 assesses countries against the terms of reference of the minimum standard according to an agreed schedule of review. Stage 2 focuses on monitoring the follow-up of any recommendations resulting from jurisdictions' stage 1 peer review report. This report reflects the outcome of the stage 1 peer review of the implementation of the Action 14 Minimum Standard by Mexico.

This report assesses the extent to which the state of Morelos, Mexico has implemented the OECD recommendations set in the Territorial Review of Morelos, published in 2017. The recommendations addressed matters of human capital, education, skills, innovation, territorial development, sustainable development, governance and public finances. For each of them, the monitoring toolkit indicates areas of change, identifies bottlenecks and proposes ways forward. The timeframe of implementation is also considered. The report further analyses the impacts of the earthquake of 19 September 2017 and the policy responses adopted in its aftermath. It offers advice on how to lead a reconstruction process that delivers a better state of affairs than the previous one, especially concerning territorial development and infrastructure investments. It advances a new topic, on connectivity and accessibility, in view of recent investments in rail and road infrastructure.

Mexico has been a reform champion, having launched ambitious reforms in a broad range of areas. While the reforms are showing first positive effects they are not delivering to the extent they could. On many dimensions of well-being, including education, health and security amongst others, Mexico still lags behind the OECD average and regional development remains very uneven. While Mexico has done a lot to build a competitive economy, progress has been too slow in two complementary areas, namely strengthening institutions and fostering inclusion. The capacity of the public sector is weak, corruption remains widespread and the rule of law is week, all hindering trust in government institutions and the effective implementation of policies. Similarly, persistent inequalities and widespread poverty do not only mean that higher growth does not translate into widespread gains in well-being; these inequalities are also holding back growth as Mexico is not using all available talent. Mexico has taken measures to tackle these issues, but important implementation gaps remain. It will be important for the next government to build on past reform efforts, ensuring the full and effective implementation of already legislated changes to allow for reform continuity and to launch additional reforms in several priority areas, including the rule of law, education and social protection. Only then will Mexico be able to deliver a higher quality of life for all its people.

This report analyses the progresses made by Mexico in implementing the recommendations of the OECD 2016 Open Government Data Review. It identifies areas for further improvement and proposes a set of policy recommendations in areas such as institutional governance, strategic leadership, policy ownership, monitoring and reporting, and digital skills. The report underscores how open data policy can contribute to government priorities such as anti-corruption and social inclusion, and government’s crucial role in creating the conditions and opportunities for innovation and collaboration. It also underlines the role that actors from the private and third-sector, journalists and the academia play in ensuring policy continuity and sustainability.