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This report presents an assessment of Mexico's recent education reforms. Education systems worldwide require continued policy efforts in essential areas to improve student learning, such as: the need to prioritise equity; providing learning environments that are fit for the 21st century; ensuring that schools are run and staffed by high-quality professionals who are well supported; and designing evaluation and assessment frameworks that support schools and assist policy makers in promoting effective student learning and quality of education for all. Mexico's education system has evolved in this direction, but many of the recent reforms need time to mature and flexibility to be adjusted to ensure schools can deliver quality education. In Mexico, like in many other countries, there is a considerable distance between national policy making and the learning that happens in schools. Closing this gap requires substantial resources, capacity and support from state authorities, who have an important role to play as operators of the system, as well as from education stakeholders across the country. In complex education systems, implementation is not only about executing the policy but also building and fine-tuning it collaboratively. This OECD report aims to support Mexico in this endeavour.

This report provides an assessment of Mexico City’s Local Anticorruption System (LACS). Based on international best practices and the OECD Recommendation on Public Integrity, the report reviews the institutional and co-ordination arrangements of the LACS; its regulatory framework; and the tools, programmes and processes necessary for a strategic approach to public integrity. It provides concrete suggestions for enhancing the design and implementation of the system, including cultivating a culture of integrity in government, the private sector and society; improving internal control and risk management; and upgrading public procurement policies to ensure value for money. If effective, the LACS has the potential not only to improve governance, deter corruption and boost citizen’s trust in Mexico City, but also to influence the integrity culture in the country as a whole.

This review of higher education policy in Mexico was requested by the Mexican Ministry of Education to take stock of progress since the last OECD review of the higher education system in Mexico, published in 2008, and to support development of the new government’s National Development Plan and Sectoral Education Programme. The report examines the state of the higher education sector in Mexico and analyses key policies implemented by the federal and state governments. It assesses national governance and co-operation structures that help to guide the higher education system, and the relevance of existing national strategies. It also looks at public funding of higher education institutions, how the quality of higher education programmes is assured; and the extent to which the higher education system contributes to equity. The report concludes by exploring two key sectors of higher education: teacher education colleges and professional and technical institutions.   A companion volume focusing on the labour market relevance and outcomes of higher education is also available: Higher Education in Mexico: Labour Market Relevance and Outcomes.  

Half a million higher education graduates enter the labour market every year in Mexico. While their labour market outcomes are considerably better on average than those of upper secondary education graduates, some higher education graduates face periods of inactivity and unemployment. Many graduates who find work end up being over-qualified or working in the informal sector. This report finds that the Mexican higher education system needs to be better aligned with the labour market to help students develop the skills employers seek. Students need better support to succeed in their higher education studies and develop labour market relevant skills, which will help facilitate their achievement of good outcomes in the workforce. This calls for a comprehensive whole-of-government approach and the involvement of all higher education stakeholders. The report proposes a set of policy recommendations to address these issues and help Mexican higher education graduates achieve better outcomes in the labour market. The report was developed as part of the OECD Enhancing Higher Education System Performance project and is a companion to the OECD report, The Future of Mexican Higher Education: Promoting Quality and Equity, which focuses on broader issues in higher education, including governance, funding, quality and equity, as well as two key sectors of higher education: teacher education colleges and professional and technical institutions.

This review analyses the integrity system of Nuevo León, Mexico, as well as its efforts to build a culture of integrity in the public administration. It looks at mechanisms for providing timely advice and guidance to public officials when they are confronted with integrity-related questions and dilemmas. Furthermore, it analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the internal control and risk management framework, and the extent to which Nuevo León’s integrity reforms effectively engage citizens and the private sector. Finally, the Review provides an action plan to support these efforts, address ongoing challenges, and facilitate the creation of a sustainable public integrity system.

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.