Fiscal Decentralisation and Gender Responsive Budgeting in Mexico: Some Observations

This paper analyses the scope and limitations of gender responsive budgeting in Mexico within the overall framework of fiscal decentralisation. However, decentralised gender responsive budgeting can be meaningful only when the local governments have significant assignment of functions and finance. Therefore, although the focus of the paper is gender responsiveness in decentralised budgetary policies, the initiatives to incorporate gender concerns in federal budgets are also analysed to capture the effectiveness of top-down approach in conducting gender budgeting. Specifically, the paper attempts to: (1)Analyse the fiscal decentralisation in terms of revenue and expenditure assignments and intergovernmental transfers in Mexico with a gender perspective. (2) Examine the federal government initiative in gender sensitive public service delivery in health sector.(3) Evaluate the role of provincial government and civil society organisations in the process of institutionalising gender responsive budgeting in the State of Oaxaca; through legislations, public policies, and budgetary process.[NIPFP Working Paper 40. 2006]