How can we create a government culture which produces evidence-based public policy? That is the central question to the latest report by J-PAL (The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab) “Creating a culture of evidence: lessons from J-PAL partnerships with Latin America.” J-PAL is a think tank co-funded by Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee, two of the 2019 Nobel Prize of … [Read more...] about 4 recommendations for promoting evidence-based public policy
Evaluation methods and techniques
Risk management in development projects
“Ladies and gentlemen, please observe the following safety recommendations.” We have all heard those words when we are on board an airplane—in fact, many of us could probably recite from memory the cabin instructions from the flight attendant prior to take-off. But beyond that repetitive message, have you ever thought about what is behind those instructions? One thing is … [Read more...] about Risk management in development projects
Three reasons in favor of transparent, reproducible, and ethical research practices
The standards of what constitutes rigorous research are rising. In a response to what has been called a credibility crisis, entire scientific fields are calling for published research to more closely follow the scientific ideals most scientists learn early in their education. Following suit, the IDB, a leader in the generation of knowledge for Latin America, partnered with the … [Read more...] about Three reasons in favor of transparent, reproducible, and ethical research practices
Latin America and the Caribbean should tap into big data to reduce the cost of measuring poverty
By Luis Tejerina and Juan Miguel Villa According to the US government, the 2020 census could cost as much as $15.6 billion, or $49 per inhabitant. While in developing countries, according to a study of 77 countries carried out by Development Initiatives, the average cost of conducting a household survey ranges from $1 million to $1.6 million, These initiatives to … [Read more...] about Latin America and the Caribbean should tap into big data to reduce the cost of measuring poverty
The impacts of shifting from print to digital textbooks
By Rosangela Bando, Francisco Gallego, Paul Gertler Let’s imagine a dilemma: Fernanda, a principal at an elementary school in Mexico, is thinking of buying her daughter a laptop. Her daughter is halfway through fifth grade. Fernanda thinks this is a good time to introduce her daughter to the digital world: A computer should allow her daughter to excel in school. But is it … [Read more...] about The impacts of shifting from print to digital textbooks