International organizations and social insurance in Mexico

How do international organizations (IO) influence domestic social policy? This paper answers this question using a comparison of IO participation in the social insurance policymaking process in Mexico in the 1940s and 1990s. There are similarities and differences between the periods. During both periods, IOs contributed technical expertise to the policy design process. The principal IO participating in policy discussions and the means of influence differed in the 1990s from the 1940s. The comparison suggests that IOs use both hard and soft power resources to influence domestic social policy.