Descripción:
In the past decade social development policy in Mexico has experienced substantial changes. Explicit rules for distribution, decentralization and the dissemination of information on programs' norms, outcomes and impacts have taken place during this time. Have these changes had any effect on the politics of distribution of government resources? In this paper I review some of the modifications that took place in social development policy design and accountability at the Mexican federal government during the past ten years and then I test for different hypothesis on political strategies on public expenditures¿ distribution. In the programs analyzed here I find that political variables have had limited influence on the distribution of resources of federal programs at the municipal level between the years 1999 and 2005 and that programs differences in this respect may depend on program characteristics, specifically rules of allocation.