Institutional infrastructure for social innovation: The case of Mexico

This article examines the institutional infrastructure that supports market-oriented and social innovation in Mexico. Drawing from the premise that institutions are not only background elements but also active drivers of innovation systems, we analyze 319 regulatory and policy instruments across the country’s 32 states. The findings reveal a pronounced asymmetry: while innovation for economic purposes benefits from structured support mechanisms, social innovation often operates in a regulatory gap, limiting its scalability and long-term sustainability. By combining insights from innovation systems theory, institutional economics, and public policy analysis, we highlight the foundational role of legal and policy frameworks in enabling coordination among diverse actors. This research contributes to the international debate by demonstrating that strengthening formal institutional infrastructure is crucial for balancing economic competitiveness with inclusive development in contexts of institutional fragility, such as Mexico. Our findings provide a diagnostic and conceptual entry point for rethinking how institutional arrangements shape innovation trajectories in the Global South.