By Felipe Barrera-Osorio** Caldas, Colombia. As part of the 30-year anniversary celebration of the alliance between Escuela Nueva and the Colombia’s National Coffee Federation, I was invited in 2012 to speak about public-private partnerships in education. The event included a presentation by five articulate, passionate and interesting teenagers about a science project on … [Read more...] about Escuela Nueva: A Promising Model in Need of Better Evidence
Beyond development effectiveness
Once the Colombian conflict ends: Where will the internally displaced population go?
By Ana María Ibáñez** The end of a conflict poses new challenges. Post-conflict is a fragile period: political forces need to accommodate to the new realities, a flow of ex-combatants enter the society, victims become active political actors claiming truth and restitution, and uncertainty is still high, among others. This implies that the risk of the war resuming is ten … [Read more...] about Once the Colombian conflict ends: Where will the internally displaced population go?
An informal Uber?
At rush hour it is virtually impossible to get a cab ride in Bogota or Lima. The last time I went to Bogotá, the line for taxis at the airport was even longer than the queue for immigration. I was tired, it was 10:30 pm and it drizzled. I would have given my kingdom for an Uber, which does charge more if demand is higher. Finally, and after an hour long wait, I got into a dirty … [Read more...] about An informal Uber?
Informal sector: hidden capital or vampire?
In some of the development literature, the informal sector is seen as a locked source of capital and growth. Find the key to unlock it and the dam of repressed innovation will water the fertile fields of formal capitalism. In the opposite view, the informal sector is outright a dangerous parasite that sucks life from the formal sector and hinders economic growth. This is not a … [Read more...] about Informal sector: hidden capital or vampire?
Deforestation and conflict in Colombia
From the abstract and conclusions of this paper on civil conflict and deforestation in Colombia: Despite a growing body of literature on how environmental degradation can fuel civil war, the reverse effect, namely that of conflict on environmental outcomes, is relatively understudied. [....] We study this relationship in the case of Colombia. [....] Our results are … [Read more...] about Deforestation and conflict in Colombia