Unlike Finland, Sweden or South Korea, Mexico is not a country characterized by its technological advances. The Mexican government  spends just 0.4% of GDP in financing innovation. 

 

In addition, the private sector is risk-averse and there is a lack of mechanisms and incentives to push innovation in this country, among other things. 

 

Ethos Laboratory of Public Policies analyzes and proposes schemes that contribute to the Mexican economy and strives to turn it into the center of excellence in science, technology and innovation worldwide. We believe that if support comes from the government, private sector, and academia, it is possible to achieve produce new and innovative goods, processes, and organizational methods.

 

That is the reason why  Ethos Laboratory of Public Policies has decided to promote Public-Private Associations (PPAs) as an innovative project with a specific approach on a state level. According to the experience and recent investigations of the Ethos team, PPAs are very efficient tools for the promotion and the push for technological development by the goverment. 

 

• Public - Private Associations ( PPAs )

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On an international level, Public-Private Associations (PPAs) are defined as the relation between the public and private sector with the objective of creating a joint strategy. The purpose of this collaborative work is the maximization of the interests of the private sector and the development of social aims for the public sector. This relationship is established with contracts and for the long-term, and both sectors share advantages and risks. 

 

The schemes for PPA's were introduced in the United Kingdom in the 90's, as a mechanism to support the country's economic and social development. They are created under the impression that the private sector is more efficient in certain activities (for example: infrastructure construction).

 

 The proposal of Ethos Laboratory of Public Policies is to use those PPA's shemes to stimulate innovation in Mexico. PPAs grant the necessary incentives to the private sector to invest considerable sums of money in key projects. The objective is to achieve intensive growth of mexican economy.

 

 

In order for PPA's to function in Mexico, the following are necessary: 

 

• Establish a better normative brand in order to adopt the model 

• Promote the outline and its advantages to generate a better understand of what it entails 

• Adapt models from other countries to the needs and possibilities of Mexico

 

Currently,  Ethos is working on a project about PPAs with the states of Hidalgo, Nuevo León, and Mexico City. 

 

• Small, Medium and Sized Enterprises ( SMEs )

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 SMESs are the main part of the Mexican economy and constitute 99.8% of the countries' companies, generating 52% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of employment. 

 

The importance of SMEs for a country's economic development is evident; nevertheless, many SMEs do not survive past the first three years of activity. The causes are varied: 

 

• Low competitiveness

• Institutional Failures

• Few technological absorption

 

To alleviate these problems, Ethos offers proposals to improve the normative framework and institutional design at the state and municipal level which governs SMEs. Federatives entities can therefore establish the ideal circumstance in which SMEs develop and participate in a way that benefits the economic and social progress of Mexico.