Abstract

MARTINEZ PELLEGRINI, Sárah; FLAMAND, Laura  and  HERNANDEZ, Alberto. An Overview of the Municipal Development in Mexico: Antecedents, Design and Findings of the Basic Municipal Development Index. Gest. polít. pública [online]. 2008, vol.17, n.1, pp.145-192. ISSN 1405-1079.

We present the background, methodology and initial findings of the Basic Municipal Development Index (MDIb), which measures the level and sustainability of development of Mexican mu-nicipalities. The index is based on the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of human devel-opment (Sen, 1999) and of endogenous development (Beccatini, 1975): the central focus of development is the bettering of the conditions of life of the population and the involvement of the community is crucial to promote it, especially, at the local level. The central innovation of the MDIb is that it includes, in addition to the socio-economic variables that are traditionally considered to be a measure of development, environmental and institutional variables. In the article, we discuss the dimensions of development that the index utilizes (economic, environmental, institutional and social), and present the results for a sample of 21 municipalities. Finally, in order to emphasize the relevance of this indicator, we compare its results with those of other indexes frequently employed in Mexico: the Human Development Index (UNDP) and the Marginality Index (Conapo).

Keywords : local development; sustainable development; local and municipal government; intergovernmental relations; public policy.

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