The OECD Once More on Telecommunications in Mexico: A Proud Accomplice in Reforms Whose Success Is Far from Sure

Adriaan ten Kate, Sr.

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According to the OECD Review on Telecommunication and Broadcasting in Mexico 2017, the performance of the industry since the reforms of 2013 and 2014 has been remarkable and demonstrates what can be achieved with evidence-based policy making. In my view, the review rather demonstrates what can be achieved by manipulating the evidence at will. It attributes to the reforms achievements that were well underway long before and closes its eyes to the many difficulties faced during their implementation. It is simply too early to arrive at an evaluation of reforms whose effects cannot be expected overnight. The review is a good example of selling the skin before shooting the bear. By applauding the reforms the way the review does, the OECD lost the opportunity to keep albeit a bit of distance.

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Adriaan ten Kate, Sr., The OECD Once More on Telecommunications in Mexico: A Proud Accomplice in Reforms Whose Success Is Far from Sure, 3 Criterion J. on Innovation 155 (2018).

Adriaan ten Kate, Sr. is a Dutch-born theoretical physicist turned economist who resides in Mexico City. He has a doctoral degree in mathematics and physics from the Free University of Amsterdam and a Ph.D. in economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam. In the early 1970s, he was a computer assistant to Jan Tinbergen, the first Nobel laureate in economics. In the late 1970s, he was ranked 24th on the list of the 30 most-cited Dutch economists. In the 1980s, he advised the Mexican government on trade policy, and, in the early 1990s, he participated in the NAFTA negotiations on the Mexican side. From 1995 to 2005, he was Chief Economist of the Mexican Competition Commission. Since his retirement in 2006, he has acted as a consultant in competition and regulation. He has an ELO rating of 2185 from the International Chess Federation and likes to see himself as an out-of-the-box thinker.