Heidi Jane Smith - Universidad Iberoamericana - Mexico

Heidi Jane Smith - Universidad Iberoamericana - Mexico
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Heidi Jane Smith
Universidad Iberoamericana - Mexico
Economics Department
Faculty Member
Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico
Political Science
Post-Doc
Florida International University
Public Administration
Alumna
George Mason University
Public Administration
Adjunct
University of California, San Diego
Center for US-Mexican Studies
Fellow 2022-23
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Heidi Jane Smith is a research professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.  She received her Ph.D. from Florida International University, a Master’s in Public Policy from American University in Washington, DC and her BA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin (Madison). She has extensive experience working with local and regional governments in Latin America as a consultant (IDB, OAS, OECD) and serving in the U.S. government (State, IAF).  She was a recipient of a Fulbright-García Robles fellowship in Mexico and has taught research methods, political economy and public policy at ITAM and Ibero in Mexico City and at George Mason University in Washington DC.
Heidi Jane M. Smith Profesor e Investigadora en Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México. Es doctora de la Florida International University, Maestra en Políticas Públicas por la American University y Licenciada en Ciencias Políticas por la University of Wisconsin (Madison).  Ella ha trabajado como asesora y analista en temas de política económica y urbanas para el IDB, la OEA, la OECD, y al gobierno de los EUA (Departamento del Estado y la Fundación Interamericana).  Fue una becaria de la Fulbright-García Robles en México. Ha dado clases de política economía, política pública, urbana y métodos cualitativas y cuantitativas en ITAM, la Universidad Iberoamericana en Ciudad de Mexico y George Mason University en Washington DC.
Supervisors:
Allan Rosenbaum, Keith Revell, Meredith Newman, Andrew Selee, and David Bray
Prolongación Paseo de Reforma 880,
Lomas de Santa Fe, México, C.P. 01219,
Ciudad de México.
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Articles by Heidi Jane Smith
Foundations of Public Debt Management (Sovereign and Subnational): Theories and Concepts
Research Handbook on Public Financial Managemen
Smith, H.J.M. & Alfonso Mendoza-Velázquez (2023). Foundations of Public Debt Management (Sovereig...
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Smith, H.J.M. & Alfonso Mendoza-Velázquez (2023). Foundations of Public Debt Management (Sovereign and Subnational): Theories and Concepts, in K.D. Dzigbede & W.B. Hildreth (Eds.), Research Handbook on Public Financial Management. London, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing. (ISBN: 978 1 80037 9701).
Developing Social Equity Competencies: Strategies for Public Budgeting and Finance Curriculum
Teaching Social Equity in Public Administration: A Cross-Curricular Guide for Faculty and Programs
, 2024
Wooldridge, B. & H.J.M. Smith (2024). Developing Social Equity Competencies: Strategies for Publ...
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Wooldridge, B. & H.J.M. Smith (2024).  Developing Social Equity Competencies: Strategies for Public Budgeting and Finance Curriculum. In Teaching Social Equity in Public Administration: A Cross-Curricular Guide for Faculty and Programs, eds.  Sean McCandless and Susan Gooden, Routledge 2024 (ISBN: 9781800379701).
ENVIRONMENTAL VULNERABILITY AND DISASTER PREVENTION A Study of Local Governments in Mexico
Castillo Salas M.F. & H.J.M. Smith (2024). Environmental Vulnerability and Disaster Prevention: A Case Study from Mexico. In Climate Governance in International and Comparative Perspective: Issues and Experiences in the Global South, eds. Peter F. Haruna and Cristina Stanica, Information Age Pub...
, 2024
Disaster management requires institutions to help alleviate the effects of climate change on indi...
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Disaster management requires institutions to help alleviate the effects of climate change on individual citizens. The chapter explores the institutional factors to explain how local Mexican governments can develop better (or worse) instruments to prevent and manage disasters. Using a national survey done in 2020 to over 2,000 municipal governments, the chapter performs an Optimal Scaling Regression to explore the factors that explain why local Mexican governments develop better or worse instruments to manage Disasters Triggered by Natural Hazards. When considering these instruments, we AU: To indicate corrections to these proofs, please use latest Adobe Acrobat Use the Commenting tool, which can be accessed on the current version by right clicking on the PDF and selecting Add Sticky Note. Position the Sticky Note where you want the correction made and insert revision text inside the Sticky Note. Text you wish to revise can also be highlighted by selecting the text, right clicking, and selecting Highlight Text. The Strikethrough Text option can be used indicated text to delete. Please DO NOT directly edit or copy and paste corrections to the PDF. Doing so will adversely affect formatting and mangle the text. Failure to comply to these requirements will result in corrected proofs not being accepted and returned to the author.
Limitations of Collaborative Governance Within Mexico’s Highly Disbalanced Federalist System,
The Politics of COVID-19 in Mexico: Governance Meets Government
, 2025
Smith, H.J.M. (2025) Limitations of Collaborative Governance Within Mexico’s Highly Disbalanced F...
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Smith, H.J.M. (2025) Limitations of Collaborative Governance Within Mexico’s Highly Disbalanced Federalist System, chapter in Legler, T.F. (Ed.) The Politics of COVID-19 in Mexico: Governance Meets Government (1st ed.). Routledge.DOI:
Forecasting Trade relations between United States and Mexico
Forecasting the U.S.-Mexico Relationship: Global and Regional Scenarios
, 2024
, chapter in Forecasting the U.S.-Mexico Relationship: Global and Regional Scenarios, eds. Abelar...
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, chapter in Forecasting the U.S.-Mexico Relationship: Global and Regional Scenarios, eds. Abelardo Rodriguez and Tony Payan, Lynne Rienner.  (ISBN: 978-1-962551-29-8)
Implementación de las políticas públicas COVID19: Un Análisis del federalismo mexicano
América Latina y el Caribe ante la pandemia. Retos, dificultades y aprendizajes de los gobiernos nacionales, subnacionales y locales
, 2021
El presente estudio demuestra un análisis cuantitativo de los procesos de implementacióndepolític...
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El presente estudio demuestra un análisis cuantitativo de los procesos de implementacióndepolíticaspúblicascontraelCOVID-19. Porunaparte,seusandatos de la OCDE para comprobar si los estados federalistas tienen más casos de muertos que los estados unitarios mediante una muestra de 37 países miembros de la OCDE, tanto Federalistas (7) como no Federalistas (30), considerando el número de muertos y contagiados de COVID-19, como variables dependientes. Por una parte, el modelo arrojó que al aumentar el número de camas hospitalarias por cada 1,000 personas y al aumentar el gasto consolidado a nivel local, se disminuye el número de contagios. Finalmente, en el caso de muertes por COVID-19 a nivel OCDE, se encontró que existe una relación negativa y significativa en el número de camas hospitalarias por cada 1,000 personas y en el gasto en salud cómo porcentaje del PIB. Lo anterior, nuevamente confirma la importancia del gasto público en salud cómo una herramienta eficaz para atender problemas de salud pública.
Políticas prodensificación y cambio climático: los desafíos de las ciudades mexicanas
by
Heidi Jane Smith
and
Manlio Felipe Castillo Salas
Sobre México Temas De Economía
, 2021
Pro-densification policies and climate change: The challenges of Mexican cities//

Políticas pro...
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Pro-densification policies and climate change: The challenges of Mexican cities//
Políticas prodensificación y cambio climático: los desafíos de las ciudades mexicanas. With M. F. Castillo Salas, E. Ramírez de la Cruz, & Smith, H. J. (2021). Sobre México Temas De Economía, (3), 1-29
Integrating Capacity and Autonomy in Evaluating the Quality of Governance: A Case of China’s Capital Markets and Local Debt Crisis
Journal of US-China Public Administration Volume 19, Number 3, 2022 (Serial Number 159)
, 2022
The quality of governance is an important concept in studying economic growth and social welfare ...
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The quality of governance is an important concept in studying economic growth and social welfare in developing and transition countries. Although somewhat controversial, there are clearly defined broad approaches or interactions to evaluate the quality of government. Fukuyama proposes an ideal type of governance quality model that could illustrate optimal levels of autonomy for differing levels of capacity. Gaining insights from his perspective, this research examines China’s experience with fiscal decentralization by focusing on the evolution of its current local government debt crisis. This research aims to explain the changing fiscal relationship between the central and local governments and analyze the roles and interactions of capacity, discretion, and accountability in China’s local governments. Although the central government has shown proactiveness in promoting local capital markets and has exerted efforts in regulating the local debt financing, the paper argues that without advancing tax reform and local discretion while increasing ways to create accountability and improve capacity within local governments, the debt market will not operate as expected. As a result, local governments and residences still rely heavily on the center to support balancing their fiscal budgets.
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Health sector reform is essential for improving health systems through governance, provision, and financing measures.
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Ending Corruption and Improving Accountability: A Survey of Public Finance Teaching in Mexico
International Journal of Public Administration
, 2020
Are public policy programs in Mexico ensuring students receive the correct public finance and bud...
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Are public policy programs in Mexico ensuring students receive the correct public finance and budgeting training to cut corruption, corporatism, clientelism, and other plaguing patronage elements? Are these programs also teaching public financial management to ensure accountability, results, and responsiveness for our future government officials? Are we creating more integrative and ethical public financial managers with the appropriate knowledge of public financial systems? In order to address these questions, this study compiled general and curricular information of 68 masters’s programs in public administration across the 32 states in Mexico, covering a total of 1,138 courses. To conduct the analysis, this article identifies five complementary lenses for evaluating and teaching public finance and budgeting. The authors argue that, although nearly all Masters in Public Policy and Public Administration programs in Mexico teach public finance, there is a wide variation in the lenses, tools, and techniques used across these programs. Furthermore, the scope of this curricular component is not sufficient to face the challenges of the country and its regions, nor to address the diverse social needs, local contexts, and government institutions, and labor market for public employees.
Incentivos e incentivos perversos en el mercado de deuda subnacional en México ¿Cuál es el mejor instrumento?
Pluralidad y Consenso
, 2019
Incentivos e incentivos perversos en el mercado de deuda subnacional en México ¿Cuál es el mejor ...
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Incentivos e incentivos perversos en el mercado de deuda subnacional en México ¿Cuál es el mejor instrumento? with Carmina Jimenez Quiroga article in Mexican Congressional Journal: Pluralidad y Consenso: Federalismo en Mexico. 2019, Vol. 9, Núm. 40 pp. 104 - 112 (ISBN 23958138).
City Networks and Para-Diplomacy as Global Public Policy in Global Policy and Transnational Administration, edited by Diane Stone and Kim Moloney, Oxford Press 2019.
Global Policy and Transnational Administration
, 2019
Chapter in Global Policy and Transnational Administration edited by Diane Stone and Kim Moloney, ...
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Chapter in Global Policy and Transnational Administration edited by Diane Stone and Kim Moloney, Oxford Press 2019. (ISBN: 9780198758648)
Aumento de la capacidad de toma de decisiones de los gobiernos locales: la búsqueda de crecimiento económico de México, en Los incentivos perversos del federalismo fiscal mexicano, Trimestre Económico (2018) coord por Alfonso Mendoza Velázquez, FONDO DE CULTURA ECONÓMICA (FCE).
Los incentivos perversos del federalismo fiscal mexicano
, 2018
Capitulo de libro en Los incentivos perversos del federalismo fiscal mexicano, Trimestre Económic...
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Capitulo de libro en Los incentivos perversos del federalismo fiscal mexicano, Trimestre Económico (2018)  coord por Alfonso Mendoza Velázquez, Edición Especial Ciudad de Mexico: FONDO DE CULTURA ECONÓMICA (FCE). ISBN: 9786071660367
Hardening Budget Constraints A Cross National Study of Fiscal Sustainability and Subnational Debt, International Journal of Public Administration, 2019 (online first)
Journal of International Public Administration
, 2019
This study explores the financial sustainability of subnational governments in four different cou...
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This study explores the financial sustainability of subnational governments in four different countries. Scholars argue that subnational fiscal capacity helps local governments deliver better public services and provide public goods, which in turn helps to promote economic growth. While administrative control by the central governments contributes to reducing moral hazard from the soft budget constraints, bottom-up strategies to manage fiscal profligacy also need attention. The study first provides understanding about the characteristics of central-local governance and management of subnational government debt of each country. Then, we test our hypotheses regarding local fiscal capacity and administrative control, including political-economic factors that may affect debt spending by local governments. Our findings show that subnational fiscal sustainability improves when the central governments have clear rules to intergovernmental transfers in place and more (market) liberal policies, meanwhile when subnational governments have a more fiscal capacity and less intergovernmental transfers they are able to manage their debt more soundly.
State Investment in Social Programs after Three Decades of Decentralization and Social Reform in Mexico. Gestion y Política Pública [online]. 2017, vol.26, n.spe, pp.157-189. ISSN 1405-1079.
by
Anahely Medrano
Heidi Jane Smith
, and
Smith Heidi
Gestion y Política pública
, 2017
Resumen: En el contexto de distintos procesos de descentralización y reforma social, la participa...
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Resumen: En el contexto de distintos procesos de descentralización y reforma social, la participación de los gobiernos estales en desarrollar programas sociales propios se ha incrementado en México. Sin embargo, la magnitud y los determinantes de la inversión en dichos programas han sido poco estudiados. Este trabajo se centra en la participación de los gobiernos estatales en política social, específicamente, en su inversión en programas sociales. En particular, el propósito central de este artículo es identificar algunos de los factores más importantes relacionados con la asignación de recursos presupuestales para programas sociales por parte de los gobiernos estatales. para ello, este estudio realiza un análisis cuantitativo del presupuesto asignado a programas sociales de las 32 entidades federativas de México, según los datos reportados por el sistema de información de pro-gramas sociales de la iniciativa para el Fortalecimiento de la institucionalidad de los programas Sociales (ipro) de 2009 a 2013. Los resultados de este estudio sugieren que el porcentaje de pobre-za extrema estatal, el producto interno bruto (pib) per cápita estatal y la ocurrencia de año electoral en el estado, son factores que inciden el monto del presupuesto anual asignado a los programas sociales estatales. A pesar de que la descentralización ha reportado para los gobiernos estatales, entre otras cosas, más recursos financieros para gastar, no hay evidencia de que la disponibilidad de dichos recursos se traduzca en mayor presupuesto para los programas sociales, como los que registra el sistema de información antes mencionado. Palabras clave: política social subnacional, cambio político, América Latina, gasto social. Abstract: throughout various decentralization and social reforms in Mexico, state governments have increasingly developed their own social programs. However, there is scant research on the amounts of resources invested in those programs. this article focuses on the participation of state govern
The Impact of Parties and Elections on Municipal Debt Policy in Mexico. Governance. with Allyson Benton 2017, 30(4) pp621–639. DOI: 10.1111/gove.12234.
by
Allyson Benton
and
Heidi Jane Smith
Governance
, 2017
Opportunistic electoral fiscal policy cycle theory suggests that all subnational officials will r...
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Opportunistic electoral fiscal policy cycle theory suggests that all subnational officials will raise fiscal spending during elections. Ideological partisan fiscal policy cycle theory suggests that only left-leaning governments will raise election year fiscal spending, with right-leaning parties choosing the reverse. This article assesses which of these competing logics applies to debt policy choices. Cross-sectional time-series analysis of yearly loan acquisition across Mexican municipalities—on statistically matched municipal subsamples to balance creditworthiness across left- and right-leaning governments—shows that all parties engage in electoral policy cycles but not in the way originally thought. It also shows that different parties favored different types of loans, although not always according to partisan predictions. Both electoral and partisan logics thus shape debt policy decisions—in contrast to fiscal policy where these logics are mutually exclusive—because debt policy involves decisions on multiple dimensions, about the total and type of loans.
The Role of Metropolitan Cooperation and Administrative Capacity in Subnational Debt Dynamics: Evidence From Municipal Mexico, Public Budgeting and Finance, 37(2) Summer 2017 pp 58–82
by
Allyson Benton
and
Heidi Jane Smith
Research on subnational capital markets in developing nations has tended to focus on designing re...
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Research on subnational capital markets in developing nations has tended to focus on designing regulatory frameworks that compensate for structural economic, fiscal, and political factors. However, research on public investment in the United States shows that functional factors, like administrative capacity and metropolitan cooperation, are also important. Using a panel dataset of Mexican municipal debt (2005–2012), the study examines whether metropolitan cooperation and administrative capacity affect subnational debt decisions in this developing nation. Cross-sectional time-series analysis of different types of municipal debt (public development bank loans, private commercial bank debt, bond emissions, and trust instruments) reveals that municipalities in metropolitan areas avoid costlier credits but that they do not cooperate to access cheaper loans. The research reveals that administrative capacity plays little to no role in municipal debt decisions.
El papel de las reglas fiscales en el control del endeudamiento: la debilidad institucional de los municipios mexicanos, Revista Iberoamericana de Estudios Municipales, Núm. 14 (2016): agosto-diciembre, pp115-149.
En México, el Gobierno Federal es el responsable de que los riesgos financieros, como la deuda, ...
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En México, el Gobierno Federal es el responsable de que los riesgos financieros, como la deuda, se encuentren dentro de límites prudentes (Ahmad, et al., 2005:7). Sin embargo, los lineamientos que restringen la capacidad de endeudamiento de los gobiernos municipales no son muy claros (Guillén, 1999: 26). Las autoridades competentes han realizado esfuerzos por dar mayor certeza y claridad en este aspecto promoviendo una descentralización fiscal en México con la intención de que los gobiernos municipales y estatales adquieran cada vez mayor capacidad para manejar sus propias finanzas públicas.
La base de la reglamentación respecto a las finanzas públicas y sobre todo a la deuda estatal y municipal se encuentra en la Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos.  Ahí se fundamenta el modo en que los diferentes entes gubernamentales deben emitir su deuda pública; algunos de los elementos incluidos en este estatuto se refieren a la prohibición de endeudarse en moneda extranjera y exige que cada gobierno estatal y local registre sus préstamos a largo plazo con el Gobierno Federal (CPEUM, 2015).
La Constitución también refiere que la deuda sea contratada según la viabilidad del crédito, con la banca de desarrollo, el mercado de bonos, fideicomisos o la banca comercial, con la finalidad de promover el desarrollo en las entidades. En este sentido, algunos autores refieren que la mayoría de los créditos son de corto plazo, y de éstos, el 46% se utiliza para realizar obras públicas. A pesar del mandato constitucional de utilizar los recursos para promoción del desarrollo, generalmente los recursos adquiridos a través de deuda son utilizados por los municipios para el pago de salarios (Arroyo y Sánchez 1996: 127).
Ante esta problemática se ha propuesto implementar niveles adecuados de regulación como un medio para establecer límites al endeudamiento con la intención de reducir su acumulación dentro de un sistema fiscal federal (Finot 2001; Wiesner 2003). La regulación fiscal es un elemento decisivo en la contratación de deuda y el manejo de las finanzas públicas desde un punto de vista normativo. Este trabajo tiene el objetivo de identificar dónde es necesario endurecer la legislación estatal para frenar un endeudamiento desmedido y así tener unas finanzas públicas municipales más sanas. Para lograr el propósito establecido se ha utilizado una base de datos con más de 2,400 municipios, en el periodo 2004 − 2012.
What Encourages Cities to Become Sustainable? Measuring the Effectiveness of Implementing Local Adaptation Policies, International Journal of Public Administration, March 2016, 39(10) pp.718-728.
International Journal of Public Administration
, 2016
This research seeks to understand which essential characteristics are necessary to drive municipa...
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This research seeks to understand which essential characteristics are necessary to drive municipal governments to adopt smart growth measures. By testing previously expected outcomes for why a local government would adopt a particular policy, we find an inherent need to create strong needs-based policies promoted by interest groups. We conducted a principal component analysis and a linear regression model to test several hypotheses. A discussion of this analysis is provided along with policy recommendations to explain why and when metropolitan areas use sustainability plans and how to encourage more to do so.
Micro-Incentives and Municipal Behavior: Political Decentralization and Fiscal Federalism in Argentina and Mexico, with Keith Revell, World Development, Volume 77, January 2016, Pages 231–248.
World Development
, 2016
This article analyzes the mixed results of political and fiscal decentralization in Latin America...
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This article analyzes the mixed results of political and fiscal decentralization in Latin America by comparing taxing and spending policies in six cities in Argentina and Mexico. Consistent with previous studies, we find that decentralization has been frustrated by overconcentration of power at the provincial level and large vertical fiscal imbalances, though we characterize these as functional elements in a system of redistributive policy-making that benefits a wide array of provincial and municipal actors. We seek to add a new dimension to the literature by arguing that micro-level incentives (conditions and circumstances particular to specific places) are more important determinants of municipal behavior than macro-level structures (those policy and institutional changes intended to make officials more responsive to local conditions – federalism, local elections, intergovernmental transfers, and own-source revenues). We conclude that the theory of decentralization relies on a flawed conception of the causal mechanisms that are hypothesized to create responsiveness in local officials.
“US Sub-national Governmental Response to the “Great Recession”: Implications forthe Equitable Distribution of the Costs and Benefits of Public Services,” with Blue Wooldridge, International Review of Administrative Sciences 82 (3) 2017 pp 425 - 442.
International Review of Administrative Sciences
, Sep 3, 2017
Experts suggest that when faced with fiscal stress public managers can engage in three coping pra...
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Experts suggest that when faced with fiscal stress public managers can engage in three coping practices: an actual cutback in services, expansion of existing financial resources, or reduction in work force. During the Great Recession (2007–2012), US subnational governments utilized all three of these practices. The purpose of this article is to identify coping mechanisms used by state and local governments to respond to the Great Recession, and identify approaches to minimize the negative and disproportionate impact of these actions on women, minorities, and the economically disadvantaged. The authors provide specific examples of tactics employed by US subnational governments in response to fiscal stress and evaluate the equity of their consequences on the distribution of goods and services. A review of the concept of social equity, its related literature, and an analysis of the disparate impact of coping practices on underrepresented groups is provided. Finally, the article presents mitigating strategies in order to reduce the regressive impact of these coping practices on the vulnerable populations.
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