Joint blog post with Gustavo Crespi The relationship between innovation and employment has never been an easy one. For a long time innovation was seen as a potential threat to employment and economists got to the point of defining technological unemployment as a disease. The argument was that technological change could create unemployment through the substitution of … [Read more...] about Is innovation a threat to employment in Latin America?
What does and doesn't work in development
12 recommendations on government reform
The idea that some policy “works well” is grounded on three assumptions. First, it assumes that the evidence is rigorous in the sense that causality can be established and policy implementation leads to the expected outcome. Second, that if “it” works, it is the most cost effective proposition. The third assumption is that effectiveness is not weakened by the delivery … [Read more...] about 12 recommendations on government reform
Who cares if you don’t pay your taxes?
By Carlos Scartascini Tax evasion is endemic in many countries. In particular, some developing countries like Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Guatemala do not collect even half of what they should if taxpayers complied with the written letter of the law, according to recent studies summarized in Corbacho, Fretes Cibils, and Lora (2013). This problem is … [Read more...] about Who cares if you don’t pay your taxes?
When you are 64
Right after you sing this to the tune of the Beatles song “When I’m 64” Sent you a pension, wrote you a check Stating full amount Indicate precisely how much is your min And please tell us your next of kin This is to help you avoid the fall Who could ask for more We will support you, staying alive When you’re sixty-five Tu ru ru tutu tu ru ru tuuu turuuu tu … [Read more...] about When you are 64
Leave the bureaucrats alone?
A few months back we shared some disheartening results in this blog: kids didn’t improve their test scores if taught by teachers from the Kenyan Ministry of Education but did better if the teachers were managed by an NGO. Although the results were striking, the policy implications were non-starters. Even if it were politically feasible, which NGO in the World is capable of … [Read more...] about Leave the bureaucrats alone?