By Fernando Balcazar By giving farmers the means to improve their own crops, through subsidized technology, Bolivia has found a practical solution to combat rural poverty and improve food security among the country’s most vulnerable population. … [Read more...] about Bolivia: Combating Rural Poverty by Supporting Farmers
Ecotourism: Protecting Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
By Annette Bettina Killmer In Sete Barras, Brazil, the community, marketing and infrastructure came together in an ecotourism development program to protect Brazil's Atlantic Forest by increasing the numbers of visits to six state parks and providing training to area residents. … [Read more...] about Ecotourism: Protecting Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
Do we learn more when we make mistakes?
In 2013 the Inter-American Development Bank financed 168 projects for a total of 14 billion dollars. Every day we ask ourselves if our projects are contributing to the well-being of the region; if they are improving quality of life for the girls, farmers, and retirees we had in mind when we planned the interventions; if we really know if the projects failed or succeeded; if … [Read more...] about Do we learn more when we make mistakes?
Is innovation a threat to employment in Latin America?
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?
The 60% solution and the trillion dollar bill
I came across an astonishing mind blowing number in my commute to work the other day, while listening to Owen Barder (@owenbarder) interview with Michael Clemens (@m_clem) on this Development Drums podcast (highly recommended -end of infomercial). The number? 60 percent. Sixty percent of the difference between the income of a person in a developed country … [Read more...] about The 60% solution and the trillion dollar bill