During the IDB’s 2023 Knowledge Week, economists Michael Kremer and Esther Duflo highlighted the importance of working in tandem with academics and promoting innovative initiatives, for producing robust evidence regarding potential solutions to the different problems which are currently affecting our region. Among these problems, bureaucratic corruption is a leading one; … [Read more...] about What works to generate impact in the control of corruption: The role of artificial intelligence
Technology for Financial Inclusion: Leapfrogging Under a Common Language
When we think of essential infrastructure, most of us picture the power lines, roads, airports and fiber-optic cables that make it possible for us to obtain goods and services. But there is another, largely intangible infrastructure that is even more central to life in the 21st century: financial market infrastructures. They are often called ‘financial plumbing’ and, like … [Read more...] about Technology for Financial Inclusion: Leapfrogging Under a Common Language
Good-Bye FiCS 2023, Hello NYC Climate Week: A New Generation of Financial Mobilization
With the conclusion of the Finance in Common Summit (FiCS) and the upcoming NYC Climate Week, the international community has come to see the powerful synergy that can be achieved when we combine the capillarity of public development banks and the convening power of multilateral development banks. This synergy is best encapsulated by the adage “the whole is greater than the sum … [Read more...] about Good-Bye FiCS 2023, Hello NYC Climate Week: A New Generation of Financial Mobilization
State capacities and climate change: the public management of complex problems
Have you ever wondered why education or health policies are tipically led by a single ministry or agency, while climate change policies involve a large group of them? Nothing short of 14 ministries in Mexico and 25 federal agencies in the United States (including the top authorities in economic policy, energy, defense, urban development, agriculture, transportation, and … [Read more...] about State capacities and climate change: the public management of complex problems
Learning From What We Do and Doing What We Learn: What We Gain from a Solution-Search Approach to Building State Capacity
The puzzle of unlikely success When I engage with clients in the field about project execution and impact, I invariably encounter a puzzle. Our clients usually point out that things would be going much better if it weren’t for the poor technical and management capabilities of the executing agency. And they are right. A lack of capacity is the headwind faced by … [Read more...] about Learning From What We Do and Doing What We Learn: What We Gain from a Solution-Search Approach to Building State Capacity