Initial results from an innovative parenting program in Jamaica showed that it benefited children's cognitive development and parents’ attitudes about caring for children. However, evaluations in subsequent years found that these effects had disappeared. In this post, we present an early childhood program that is incorporated into the country’s health system, as well as the … [Read more...] about The Challenge of Integrating Early Childhood Services with Caribbean Health Systems
Florencia Lopez Boo
Florencia Lopez Boo is a leading economist in the IDB's Social Protection and Health Division, where she works on child development and poverty reduction projects. She was a professor at the University of Louvain and worked at the World Bank and UNIDO. She has a PhD in Economics from Oxford University (Clarendon-Oxford University Press award). She is also a Young Lives Research Associate at the University of Oxford and the Institute for Labor Studies (IZA) in Bonn. Twitter: @florlopezboo
The Consequences for Human Capital of Closing and Reopening Early Childhood Centers
The temporary mass closure of preschools and daycares due to COVID-19 is depriving hundreds of millions of children of learning opportunities. These losses will have a lifelong effect on their education, health, income, and productivity, limiting their future opportunities. In addition to these negative impacts on children's development, the closures will also have an impact on … [Read more...] about The Consequences for Human Capital of Closing and Reopening Early Childhood Centers
Discover the New Knowledge Hub on Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the Caribbean!
Join us for a webinar to launch the Early Childhood Development Hub: Knowledge and Innovation for Latin America and the Caribbean this Thursday, September 24 at 2:00 p.m. EST. At this event you will learn more about the new Hub and have the opportunity to speak with experts about three elements that are key to achieving quality early childhood development services at scale: … [Read more...] about Discover the New Knowledge Hub on Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the Caribbean!
The High Cost of COVID-19 for Children
The early childhood development cluster of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is working to protect the youngest children in the region. Find out how. … [Read more...] about The High Cost of COVID-19 for Children
Can we really change parenting behavior?
This question has been on our minds as we analyze the effects of a recent home visit program implemented by the Nicaraguan government (results forthcoming, stay tuned!). The Nicaraguan intervention, like most home visit programs, targets children’s first and arguably most important teachers: their parents. The curriculum aims to strengthen parents’ knowledge of early childhood … [Read more...] about Can we really change parenting behavior?