By: Ana Corbacho and Carlos Scartascini * Crime and violence are major concerns in Latin America and the Caribbean. The region suffers from the highest homicide rate in the world, reaching over 25 deaths per 100,000 people in recent years, tripling the global average. The region is also affected by widespread common crime, which victimizes more than 10 percent of the … [Read more...] about The Costs of Crime and Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean
If it rains less, will more kids die?
Just as you can’t use real rain to make movies, it turns out it’s not much good as an instrumental variable either: … [Read more...] about If it rains less, will more kids die?
A new data plan for development economics?
Just as giant AETNA uses Google searches to track Flu outbreaks, development economists are starting to capitalize on cell phone usage data. In a recent paper Joshua Blumenstock analyzes cell phone use - a largely untapped source of fresh data for development economists - to track migration patterns in Rwanda: … [Read more...] about A new data plan for development economics?
Inequality in Colombia
Latin America is arguably the most unequal place on earth. Inequality in Colombia is the worst in Latin-America. And if you are born poor in the countryside, a small town or on the coast or if you are part of an ethnic minority your prospects are even worse argue Marcela Meléndez and Francisco Ferreira in this paper. … [Read more...] about Inequality in Colombia
Do teachers learn anything?
From a very recent blog by our colleague Hugo Ñopo (in Spanish) Those that choose teaching are not those that have best Reading scores. Just the opposite. In this blog entry, we will state two additional facts: (i) on top of the poor reading scores, Young teachers have the worst performance in Math and English among all the college youth in their generation; and (ii) … [Read more...] about Do teachers learn anything?