By: Paolo Buonanno*, Leopoldo Fergusson**, Juan F. Vargas*** Introducing ... the CKC In almost every US state, the relationship between crime and income is strikingly clear. Since 1970, the data shows a pervasive pattern similar to an inverted U-shape: crime increases with per capita income until it reaches a maximum and then decreases as income keeps rising. … [Read more...] about The Kuznets criminal curve
Evaluation methods and techniques
Water by lottery draw?
*By German Sturzenegger y Gastón Gertner How random selection of beneficiaries can promote transparency A few months ago, together with a team of IDB Specialists and government officials from Bolivia’s Ministry of Environment & Water (MMAYA), we arrived to Sica Sica, a municipality located in La Paz Department, to supervise a random selection of communities through a … [Read more...] about Water by lottery draw?
How important is clean water for education?
Much of the education economics literature focuses on how combinations of inputs, incentives and institutional structures result in better education results, in human capital accumulation and, in the longer term, in higher wages and economic growth. In this literature, less attention has been given to external factors, such as the availability of safe drinking water, personal … [Read more...] about How important is clean water for education?
3 ideas to improve education quality
On February 2013 the 3rd article of the Mexican constitution was reformed to establish that the State must guarantee education quality. The reform also established that entry into the teaching profession and promotion to supervisory positions in elementary and secondary education provided by the State, must be competitive in order to guarantee appropriate capabilities and … [Read more...] about 3 ideas to improve education quality
How (not) to lie with Cost Benefit Analysis
“Lies, damned lies, and statistics” is what Benjamin Disraeli reportedly once said, according to Mark Twain and if one is to believe Wikipedia. A few months ago I wrote on some of the dirty little secrets in Cost Benefit Analysis: mixing nominal and real flows, counting employment as a benefit, ignoring externalities etc. So it’s refreshing (or is it?) that … [Read more...] about How (not) to lie with Cost Benefit Analysis