No abstract

Government based Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) have been criticized for not maximizing environmental effectiveness through appropriate targeting, while instead prioritizing social side-objectives. In Mexico, existing literature on how the Payments for Ecosystem Services-Hydrological program (PSA-H) has targeted deforestation and forest degradation shows that both the process of identifying the eligible areas and the choice of the selection criteria for enrolling forest parcels have been under the influence of competing agendas. In the present paper we study the influence of the PSA-H multi-level governance on the environmental effectiveness of the program–the degree to which forest at high risk of deforestation is enrolled- building from a “policyscape” framework. In particular, we combine governance analysis with two distinct applications of the policyscape framework: First, at national level we assess the functional overlap between the PSA-H and other environmental and rural programs with regard to the risk of deforestation. Second, at regional level in the states of Chiapas and Yucatan, we describe the changing policy agenda and the role of technical intermediaries in defining the temporal spatialization of the PSA-H eligible and enrolled areas with regard to key socio-economic criteria. We find that, although at national level the PSA-H program has been described as coping with both social and environmental indicators thanks to successful adaptive management, our analysis show that PSA-H is mainly found in communities where deforestation risk is low and in combination with other environmental programs (protected areas and forest management programs). Such inertia is reinforced at regional level as a result of the eligible areas’ characteristics and the behaviour of technical intermediaries, which seek to minimise transaction costs and sources of uncertainty. Our project-specific analysis shows the importance of integrating the governance of a program in the policyscape framework as a way to better systematize complex interactions at different spatial and institutional scales between policies and landscape characteristics.

Tourism to Cozumel Island generates USD 762 million annually in local economic activity, and 111 visitors stay in local hotels for each inhabitant. The island’s coast is its principal attraction, yet water quality and reef health are threatened. This paper studies the link between the local economy and management of Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park, using a choice experiment to assess the economic value visitors assign to underwater visibility, biodiversity, and visitor congestion in reef areas. We found that, on average, tourists are willing to pay USD 190 per visit to avoid a projected decrease in biodiversity, USD 120 per visit to prevent a projected decline in visibility, and USD 98 to avoid high congestion during reef visits. We find high heterogeneity in willingness to pay estimates, which may be useful for targeting both conservation and marketing efforts. On the other hand, increasing the reef access fee from USD 2 to USD 6 could fully fund effective protected area management, with no substantial effect on visitors’ consumer surplus. Results suggest that a conservation surcharge could be added to all tours, with little impact on visitation, and that significantly increasing private sector collaboration and government spending on conservation would be good economic choices.

La Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México (ZMVM) ha experimentado una expansión no proporcional al crecimiento poblacional. Entre otras modalidades de poblamiento, la construcción de grandes conjuntos habitacionales periféricos propicia esa expansión, imponiendo costos individuales y sociales. Se revisan aquí las características de la expansión urbana en la ZMVM y las condiciones de producción de vivienda social periférica, la pérdida de ingreso de los individuos derivada de la distancia a los centros de trabajo y, a través de un modelo de precios hedónicos, se estima el rol de esa distancia en el diferencial de precios entre la vivienda periférica y la intraurbana.AbstractThe Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) has experienced an expansion that is not proportional to population growth. Among other forms of settlement, the construction of large, peripheral housing complexes promotes this expansion, imposing individual and social costs. This paper reviews the characteristics of urban expansion in the MCMA and production conditions of peripheral social housing, individuals’ loss of income due to the distance from the workplace and, through a hedonic price model, considers the role played by this distance in the price differential between peripheral and intra-urban housing.

Se lleva a cabo un análisis de agrupamiento espacial para identificar patrones espaciales y caracterizar los efectos de la letalidad por COVID-19 en México. Se explica en un nivel municipal las similitudes y diferencias en la tasa de letalidad acumulada del 22 de abril al 6 de agosto de 2020 en relación con el perfil demográfico de la población, factores socioeconómicos y ambientales, así como la accesibilidad a establecimientos de salud. Los resultados muestran que, si bien la mayor parte de la población agrupada mantiene una tasa de letalidad promedio en los centros urbanos, los grupos más aislados presentan tasas de letalidad inferiores a la media nacional. Las tasas de letalidad más altas se alcanzan en los municipios rurales e indígenas, donde las personas son más vulnerables.

Commuting is expensive in megacities of emerging economies. By decreasing work-related trips, teleworking may reduce congestion and commuting time. Taking Mexico City’s office workers’ as case study, this paper reports findings from a discrete choice experiment (DCE) exploring willingness to see a cut in monthly paycheck in exchange for teleworking two days a week from a shared office. This DCE explores preferences for bike parking spaces at shared office’s facilities, and walking commuting time to shared office. This design allows estimation of willingness to pay (WTP) for teleworking across commuting time scenarios. Monthly WTP for teleworking 2 days a week starts at (2019) USD 76.68—if commuting time is zero. As 1 h of commuting time is valued at USD 61.97 on a monthly basis, WTP for teleworking 30 min away from home is USD 45.69. Wealthier respondents report higher value for commuting time and WTP for teleworking. Monthly value of bike parking infrastructure is USD 14.70—reaching USD 30.98 for commuters that walk or (motor-)bike less than 50 min. We illustrate how these stated benefits can inform cost-benefit analysis of transportation, housing, and labor policies that enable teleworking and/or reduce commuting times in Mexico City.

ResumenIntroducción: Los impactos de la escasez y contaminación del agua afectan a grandes sectores de la población, pero inciden de manera desproporcionada en los sectores de menores ingresos.  La relación agua - pobreza es de la mayor importancia tanto desde el punto de vista de salud pública como el de equidad social.  El presente trabajo estudia la relación entre la falta de acceso al agua, el tiempo destinado a trabajar y los niveles de ingreso. Método: Con información de la Encuesta Nacional sobre Uso del Tiempo 2002 del INEGI, se estima la brecha de ingreso y de las horas trabajadas entre la población que destina tiempo en acarrear agua con aquella (estadísticamente comparable) que no realiza esta actividad.  Esto se hace a partir de un método de apareamiento (propensity score matching) considerando características personales y del municipio donde éstas viven.Resultados: En ambos casos se observa una diferencia estadísticamente significativa.  En el primero, la brecha del ingreso familiar trimestral de alrededor de 18%.  En el segundo, se estima que una persona que acarrea agua disminuye el tiempo que destina a trabajar en alrededor de 13%.  Estos resultados sugieren que la falta de acceso al agua es una condición que tiene un impacto significativo en hacer más proclive a una persona a caer en una condición de pobreza.Discusión o Conclusión: Una política de cobertura de dicho servicio tiene el doble efecto de atender un satisfactor fundamental de bienestar a la vez que libera a las personas de un tiempo adicional que puede aprovecharse en horas productivas.  Ambos factores conducen tanto a una mejor calidad de vida como como a la mitigación en la pobreza monetaria de la población atendida. De allí su doble dividendo.

Teleworking from home during the COVID-19 pandemic has faced challenges specific to cities of emerging economies -e.g. lack of access to internet. This paper points out that these challenges may be overcome if teleworking is performed from a shared office located within reasonable commuting time from a worker's home. In November and December 2019, a sample of office workers in Mexico City was presented to a discrete choice experiment (DCE) describing alternatives under which they may choose teleworking two days a week from a shared office. Commuting time to shared offices is an attribute taking four values -within 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, or 60 minutes walking distance from a worker's home. Availability of spaces to park bikes is another attribute. The price attribute is described as the amount that would be cut from worker's monthly paycheck. Based on random parameter logit specifications, willingness to pay (WTP) for teleworking from a shared office two days a week is estimated at (2019) MXP 1,460 (USD 76.68) on a monthly basis. Average value of one-hour of commuting time is estimated at MXP 73.75 (USD 3.87). Average WTP for bike parking is MXP 280 (USD 14.07) on a monthly basis.