OECD Territorial Reviews
Subtitle: Yucatan, Mexico 2007
By: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Series: OECD Territorial Reviews; OECD territorial reviews
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Paris
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] /
Number of pages: 222
ISBN-13: 9789264037106
Subjects: Governance; Rural and Regional Development Urban
Description: The Mexican state of Yucatán, with its strategically important location near the United States, Central America and the Caribbean, is one of the most dynamic regions in the OECD. Yucatán is also a land of contrasts. It is a lagging but growing region, offering a high quality of life and vast natural resources, yet suffering from problems of sustainability. Its tourism attractions are located in rural areas that do not benefit from them. It has both state and Peninsula medical services, but its health services coverage is uneven. Yucatan is a centre for higher education in the Peninsula, yet its graduates do not find jobs. It has a number of marginalised communities in fragmented administrative bodies, and although the Peninsular states share a common cultural heritage and attractiveness, their institutions do not co-operate.Clearly, Yucatán is not taking full advantage of its many resources, and in fact, challenges in the region threaten to undermine local assets. Among these is the need to upgrade activities to higher value-added innovation and design processes, and to foster primary activities to reach international markets. While the state government has proposed programmes to spur formalisation of the informal economy, measures such as better regulation, cutting red tape and providing employment opportunities and access to formal credit could have a greater impact. The lack of a shared, coherent long-term vision is a fundamental challenge to improving regional competitiveness and social cohesion in Yucatán. The OECD’s recommendations can only be part of a larger strategy to develop a collective vision of the state’s future.
Table of contents: title: Assessment and recommendations; title: Opportunities and Challenges for Development; title: What Policies for Regional Competitiveness and Social Cohesion?; title: Institutional Framework and Governance for Competitiveness in Yucatan; title: Annex.