Oliver Meza

Institute for Research in Public Policy and Government

Authorities depict noncompliance by public officials (POs) as a problematic deviation they seek to address by several means. This article discusses the problem as a situation where the public's reframing opportunities guide POs toward the acceptance of noncompliant behavior. This novel approach is underpinned by a behavioral model of decision-makin...

Healthcare workers are street-level bureaucrats (H-SLBs) who are expected to perform according to specific roles. The Covid-19 pandemic has strained healthcare systems to unprecedented levels. The acute scarcity of medical resources has left H-SLBs exposed to a higher risk of personal harm and has them making an increased number of decisions in the...

Contrary to most of the literature on corruption, which focuses on the effect of corruption on citizens’ trust in government, this paper explores the role of trust— as facilitator of, or binding within— corrupt networks: What is the role of trust in the maintenance of corrupt networks? Of trust as a facilitator of different types of public corrupti...

en The article uses the punctuated equilibrium theory to explain changes in the local policy agenda of municipal governments. It focuses on feedback (negative and positive) as a key concept that associates intergovernmental institutions in a federalist system of governance and the budgetary punctuations and change in the municipal policy agenda. I...

The diagnoses made to justify anticorruption measures tend to minimize the complexity of the phenomenon of corruption. In line with the garbage can model (Cohen, March, & Olsen, 1972), where solutions look for problems, the corruption problem is characterized as something “addressable” by the anticorruption policy, which brings serious consequences...

This chapter aims to recount how the structure of public administration has evolved, partially but importantly, to protect policy technical decisions from a historical tendency to favor strongly the prevailing interests of a political regime and party politics. Yet, the presidency of Lopez Obrador (2018-2024) has being effective in weakening previo...

Termed here as Street-Level Policy Innovation, this study shifts attention to public managers’ role in policy change processes during which local street-level implementation adaptations are later formally adopted as a new policy instrument. The study develops an analytical framework drawing on the case of the Free Sidewalk program in Mexico. In sum...

Resumen La corrupción es un fenómeno complejo. Los diagnósticos empleados para justificar medidas anticorrupción usualmente tienden a desestimarla. En línea con el modelo de bote de basura (Cohen, March, & Olsen, 1972), donde las soluciones buscan problemas, en este caso, el problema de corrupción se caracteriza de forma que sea “atendible” con la...

Los efectos que trajo consigo la pandemia al sistema de salud fueron muy evidentes y funestos. La nula preparación de las autoridades para hacer frente a la crisis sanitaria provocó una saturación de los servicios de salud, así como de la atención hospitalaria. Las deficiencias estructurales del sistema de salud salieron a flote, y el personal de s...

Este artículo analiza los retos de supervisar el trabajo emocional en una organización cuyas rutinas son alteradas fuertemente por una crisis.

When more actors—politicians, bureaucrats, or citizens—get involved in the process of policy implementation, they bring different understanding of their roles and objectives as participants in the policy. These understandings are the means–ends relationships shaping actors' behavior during the implementation process, analyzed in the literature as i...

To better understand street-level bureaucracy in developing countries, this study focuses on street-level implementation as embedded within systemic corruption, which is well-documented in the developing world. Analysis focuses on a large city in Guanajuato, which exhibits among the highest corruption rates in Mexico. To allow for a broad perspecti...

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the knowledge of managing emotional labor during a crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a disrupting event, particularly affecting frontline healthcare workers and their supervisors who faced pressures to manage emotions during their interactions with patients. Emotional labor has been studied in em...

México —al igual que otras partes del mundo— está experimentando desde hace años un incremento en los mecanismos de participación ciudadana en los espacios subnacionales. Se trata de un avance en la agenda de aper- tura gubernamental en dos sentidos: de lo nacional a lo subnacional, y del énfasis en la transparencia a una visión más completa de gob...

The study of the forces that lead citizens and public officials to tolerate corruption has attracted scholarly attention for decades. We seek to contribute to this literature by arguing that -since corruption is an interpersonal process- public officials’ perceptions of and dispositions toward it are influenced by how it is framed. To test this cla...

This article explores the role of trust in corrupt networks and networks that facilitate corruption. Specifically, we ask what is the role of particularized trust in the operation of systemic corruption? How is the basis of trust reflected in the logic of corruption and with which effects? Based on the analysis of 50 in‐depth interviews in two Mexi...

Los estudios sobre la corrupción han estado dominados por los estudios transnacionales y los estudios a nivel nacional, con una tendencia a descuidar la delgada textura de las prácticas corruptas que sólo puede lograrse mediante ricos estudios contextuales. En consecuencia, las recomendaciones anticorrupción tienden a depender excesivamente de las...

Este artículo explora el papel de la confianza en las redes de corrupción y en las redes que la facilitan: ¿Cuál es el papel de la confianza en sostener las redes de corrupción? ¿Cómo se refleja la base de la confianza en la lógica de la corrupción y con qué efectos? A partir del análisis de 50 entrevistas a profundidad en dos ciudades mexicanas, a...

Este libro apela a la capacidad de adaptación que tiene el Esta- do para hacer frente a constantes nuevos retos que afectan a la socie- dad. Este libro pretende hacer evidente la necesidad que tiene el Esta- do de voltear a ver algunos de los aspectos largamente desatendidos, y que el contexto de la pandemia ha dejado ver con mayor claridad. El lis...

El objetivo de este artículo es analizar desde el enfoque de la burocracia a nivel de calle cómo es que el personal de salud gestiona la pandemia de COVID-19 desde la primera línea de los hospitales en México. Se utilizó una metodología cualitativa con base en el análisis de documentos oficiales, así como en entrevistas y sesiones de historias con...

Healthcare workers are street-level bureaucrats (H-SLBs) who are expected to perform according to specific roles. The COVID-19 pandemic has strained healthcare systems to unprecedented levels. The acute scarcity of medical resources has left H-SLBs exposed to a higher risk of personal harm and has them making an increased number of decisions in the...

En esta investigación discutimos la importancia que tiene poner énfasis en las políticas públicas que son incoherentes entre sí, en materia de eficacia del Estado. Utilizamos el caso de la práctica de la cesárea en México para entender cómo el fenómeno puede parcialmente explicarse a partir de la incoherencia entre instrumentos de la política de sa...

This article constructs a grounded framework to study how corruption is consolidated in local governments. We focus on the fine‐grained texture of corrupt practices that can only be achieved by looking at rich contextual studies. We argue that neglecting the way corruption becomes the “rule of the game” has led to the creation of anti‐corruption po...

Studies on corruption have been dominated by cross-national studies and national-level studies, with a tendency to neglect the fine-grained texture of corrupt practices that can only be achieved by looking at rich contextual studies. As a result, anticorruption recommendations tend to be overly reliant on formal institutions and to address dyadic a...

To what extent can public policy affect the behavior of target populations without making far-reaching institutional or organizational changes? We investigate the efficacy of a policy instrument designed to increase people’s adherence to physical exercise. Based on social norms theory, we developed a communication strategy consisting in the weekly...

To what extent can public policy affect the behavior of target populations without making far-reaching institutional or organizational changes? We investigate the efficacy of a policy instrument designed to increase people’s adherence to physical exercise. Based on social norms theory, we developed a communication strategy consisting in the weekly...

Non-compliance by public officials (PO) is often depicted as problematic deviation, which authorities seek to address by several means. However, less is known of the public`s reframing opportunities to guide POs towards the acceptance of non-compliant behavior. POs' accepted zones of non-compliance are conceptualized, on the basis of a behavioral m...

Citizens' responses to dissatisfaction with public services are often portrayed as following one of four distinct patterns, each consistent with current provision structures: exit, voice, loyalty, or neglect (EVLN). Citizens may also initiate efforts to access public services through more subversive supply mechanisms. This study focuses on “gaming”...

This article explains how manager’s face noncompliance problems with the use of implementation tactics affecting the relational nature between frontline workers and policy targets. In the argument, the concept of bounded rationality is helpful to explain a set of mechanisms that affect individual’s decision-making, although overlooked in some recen...

Abstract La base de datos permite conocer la experiencia de los ciudadanos con el gobierno municipal, especialmente su experiencia, percepción o conocimiento sobre la corrupción en el municipio Las preguntas están divididas en tres secciones: preguntas generales sobre la relación ciudadano-municipio y la calidad de los servicios; preguntas indirec...

No poca bibliografía apunta las dificultades políticas, presupuestales y de organización, que tiene la administración pública en México. Sin embargo, no se ha observado ni de manera sistemática ni suficiente las formas existentes para hacer frente a esas barreras. ¿Qué tipo de acciones tienen los gerentes públicos en sus repertorios para incrementa...

introducción Generalmente las evaluaciones en el ámbito del gobierno se realizan hacia intervenciones públicas específicas con la intención de encontrar respuestas precisas, y mejorar las políticas o programas. No obstante, existen preguntas que difícilmente se podrían contestar de no optar por un estudio panorámico de las intervenciones que ejecut...

Este artículo discute la preparación que tienen los gobiernos para atender proble- mas perversos como el de las drogas. Cuando éstos no están preparados, los re- sultados pueden variar desde el uso ineficaz de los recursos hasta la creación de problemas aún mayores. En el caso de los problemas relacionados con las drogas, los resultados reflejan un...

While Latin America is undergoing a process of metropolitanization, we argue that intermunicipal cooperation (IMC) arrangements may serve as a quality check of the region’s metropolitan governance. We also adhere to the notion that IMC in a metropolitan region is affected not only by constitutional variables embedded in federalist arrangements but...

Chaotic cities are characterized for having inadequate infrastructure and its urban layout lacks of long-term perspective. These cities present stark infrastructure inequalities between rich and poor residential areas. This research attempts to answer this question by using a novel dataset to create an infrastructure inequality measurement. A theor...

This article examines the effects of the amalgamation process of local governments on political participation. Electoral turnout is a topic that has received considerable attention from scholars, and the literature offers a generous amount of empirical studies: size of the population is one of the preeminent arguments to explain citizens’ political...

The research explores the capacity and development of local councils of local governments after a reform that decentralized how councilmembers get elected. Since 2007, Nayarit has modified the electoral institutions; councilmembers are now elected by a single district majority principle. To verify the change on capacity and development we observe t...

Latin America is undergoing a process of metropolization. It characterizes most major cities in the region. Although metropolization poses its own challenges, there are factors that can be identified as general inhibitors, such as a federal systems of government. We explore the case of Mexico and Brazil, that shares this system of government with o...

What should the state’s role be in regards to the drug phenomenon? How would it be possible to determine the progress of public policies insofar as they protect citizens from the drug phenomenon as currently structured? We attempt to answer these questions, and pose others, in order to directly influence public drug policies in countries where inte...

¿Cuál debería ser el papel del Estado frente al fenómeno de las drogas? ¿Cómo sería posible verificar el avance que tienen las políticas públicas en medidas de protección para los ciudadanos, respecto al fenómeno de las drogas? Pretendemos responder estos cuestionamientos y abrir otras preguntas, con la intención de incidir directamente en la polít...

A theoretical model is developed in this chapter to explore how local governments in Mexico perform policy analysis. This model assumes that recent decentralization and democratization reforms provide conditions that shaped how local bureaucracies and institutions were designed to undertake tasks around policy analysis. Under certain circumstances,...

Introduction There is a clear bias in the study of policy affairs with regard to local governments in Mexico. The existing literature places greater emphasis on the policy process than on what is known about local governments undertaking policy analysis. The purpose of this research is to go beyond the policy process research agenda to acknowledge...

This book provides the first detailed examination of the practice of policy analysis in Mexico. It studies how public institutions and other non-state actors gather and review information and ponder options in the process of making (or trying to influence) policy decisions. Its chapters also offer explanations that are helpful for understanding how...

ABSTRACT How effective is the State in changing citizen's behavior to comply with the law when instead of imposing an economic sanction –a fine-it reaches them with a warning-notice? To what extent can the State approach a non-compliance problem with alternative policy tactics and what may limit its effectiveness? This research aims to contribute t...

¿Cómo pueden las áreas metropolitanas en México atender asuntos públicos de manera colaborativa y coordinada? Este trabajo, elaborado por académicos del Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas en colaboración con el Programa de Naciones Unidas para los Asentamientos Humanos, ofrece una respuesta tentativa. Explicamos cómo varios municipios po...

Local governments have increased the number of policy domains in which they are willing to work. Most of the explanations to the changes on the local agenda have been justified by elements postulated at a local level. Few studies recognize the multilevel nature that shapes local policy agendas through institutional mechanisms exerted by supra-local...

Local governments have increased the number of policy domains in which they are willing to work. Most of the explanations to the changes on the local agenda have been justified by elements postulated at a local level. Few studies recognize the multilevel nature that shapes local policy agendas through institutional mechanisms exerted by supra-local...

Se presenta una síntesis del proceso de planificación participativa mediante el que se estructuró el Plan Estatal de Desarrollo 2013-2033 del estado de Jalisco (PED Jalisco); para cuya elaboración se contó con el acompañamiento del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) en México. El proceso estuvo compuesto por tres fases: consu...

¿Qué se encuentra detrás del bienestar de las personas? ¿Qué incide en nuestra felicidad? Estas dos preguntas han sido centrales para la reflexión de las ciencias sociales, por lo que han merecido una cantidad importante de explicaciones. En la actualidad, los aspectos que empleamos para evaluar nuestro bienestar y felicidad apenas alcanzan a expli...

In Mexico, as in many other developing countries, improving the quality of democratic governance has faced formidable obstacles, one of which has to do with the weak institutional capacities that characterize the structure and functioning of the public sector, mainly at the local level. Despite a long-lasting process of electoral democratization an...

This study reviews the relationship between democracy, development, and inequality, particularly the link between electoral competition and the provision of inequality-reducing policies at different stages of development. I argue that local government tools that help reduce income inequality may be underprovided due to the electoral risks faced by...

This study is concerned with the broad question of why more pluralism reduces expenditure in local governments. According to the literature, proportional representation (PR) systems are associated with greater expenditure, but I offer empirical evidence showing that the case of Mexican local governments challenges this notion. An amendment to the F...

The study of local government has undergone several stages that reveal the state of the art of the discipline. It is characterized by the gradual, continuous discovery of where the object of study is located. This article examines some of the stages in the literature. It reviews the questions and arguments that every current of thought brings to th...

Tanto en México como en América Latina, los gobiernos locales han activado políticas públicas a través de un espectro cada vez más amplio y más ambicioso. La agenda de gobierno de los municipios en México ha cambiado y lo anterior sucede sin antes haber logrado reformas estructurales que permitan mejorar los procesos de elaboración de las políticas...

Tesis de Lic. en Relaciones Internacionales