Abstract

ANGULO-CAZARES, Reynaldo. Agency problems in basic education in Mexico: an institutional diagnosis. Convergencia [online]. 2018, vol.25, n.77, pp.149-173. ISSN 2448-5799.  https://doi.org/10.29101/crcs.v25i77.9224.

Given the centrality that the educational reforms of Pacto por México give to the rules of the game —vis a vis teacher behavior—, this paper examines its preexisting institutional design. The starting point was the existing claims that such design created agency problems. Our purpose was to prove the configuration of a specific type of agency problem: organizational moral hazard. We deconstructed normativity with the Institutional Grammar Tool (IGT), proposed by Crawford and Ostrom (1995). IGT allows to systematically identify —if any— the rules present in policy documents, unveiling the genetic code of policies that configure arenas where individuals display their interactions. We found that the way control management at schools is structured in relation to the application of sanctions to teachers constitutes a moral hazard situation given its assumptions.

Keywords : Pacto por México; basic education; teacher behavior; moral hazard; Institutional Grammar Tool (IGT).