By Helio Bertachini Ms. Terezinha runs her own small business selling churrasquinho, a type of steak stick, in Pindamonhangaba, a city in the countryside of São Paulo State, Brazil. Terezinha needs credit to grow her business, but until recently her access to credit was very limited.View Post … [Read more...] about Tackle the Funding Gap: Expanding Access to Credit for Brazilian Microentrepreneurs
What does and doesn't work in development
LACEA’s Impact Evaluation Network: Call for Papers
By Oscar Mitnik The Impact Evaluation Network (IEN) of the Latin America and the Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA) is calling for papers for its upcoming 10th Annual Meeting. The meeting will take place at the Inter-American Development Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC from Wednesday March 22 until Friday, March 24, 2017. Active since 2007, the IEN is an … [Read more...] about LACEA’s Impact Evaluation Network: Call for Papers
Leaving cash on the table
If someone offered you cash payments to keep your kids in school, would you turn these down? The answer seems simple enough. Most of us would respond with a clear “of course not!” Yet, the answer might not be so simple for the poorest and most vulnerable families. Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs pay cash to poor households on the condition that eligible children … [Read more...] about Leaving cash on the table
To Guide or not to Guide? Using Technology to Improve Learning
By Elena Arias and Julián Cristia Considering everything that technology has made possible, from instant global communication to space travel, harnessing it to improve learning and revolutionize education would seem well within our reach. Indeed, the IDB is looking at how technology can improve learning across Latin America and the Caribbean, where there is an urgent … [Read more...] about To Guide or not to Guide? Using Technology to Improve Learning
Dignified dwellings for Suriname’s Amerindian and Maroon communities
By Carolina Piedrafita and Carol Nijbroek Maseja Amoloe is a single mother in Pikin Pada, a small Maroon village in Suriname’s hinterland. These villages have their own form of government rooted in Amerindian traditions such as birth rights, and are fully recognized by Suriname’s government. The villages are run by a kapiten, who functions as the highest local … [Read more...] about Dignified dwellings for Suriname’s Amerindian and Maroon communities