A successful strategy to reduce poverty in developing nations has been the use of conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs. CCTs attempt to reduce poverty while also changing behavior and building human capital by providing families with cash in exchange for certain requirements, such as enrolling their children in school. These incentives have been employed … [Read more...] about Lessons from Honduras’ CTT program: conditionalities matter
education
Best invention ever? Hands down, the washing machine … after electricity, of course
By Irani Arraiz* Imagine life without access to electricity. No TV, no fridge, no washing machine! (Have you ever had to consistently wash all your clothes by hand?) When I was a child, I spent summers in my grandpa’s ranch in the plains in Venezuela, without access to electricity (because of the ridiculously low population density). I loved being in contact with … [Read more...] about Best invention ever? Hands down, the washing machine … after electricity, of course
Escuela Nueva: A Promising Model in Need of Better Evidence
By Felipe Barrera-Osorio** Caldas, Colombia. As part of the 30-year anniversary celebration of the alliance between Escuela Nueva and the Colombia’s National Coffee Federation, I was invited in 2012 to speak about public-private partnerships in education. The event included a presentation by five articulate, passionate and interesting teenagers about a science project on … [Read more...] about Escuela Nueva: A Promising Model in Need of Better Evidence
Are School Funds like a Party Cake? Taking Leftovers Home
Imagine that you are a parent and that last year you contributed US$20 to your child’s school to buy cleaning supplies, fix broken windows and pay for the phone service. Different from last year, now imagine that this year you get to choose with other parents what to do with government funds that could be used to buy cleaning supplies, fix broken windows, and pay for the phone … [Read more...] about Are School Funds like a Party Cake? Taking Leftovers Home
Robin Hood Takes On Belizean Schools
By Emma Näslund-Hadley* An education reform in Belize launched in 2011 to make government funding more equitable on a per student basis reduced the gap between the richest and poorest schools by 20% and continues to close this gap. Not long ago, schools in Belize’s wealthiest communities received up to twenty times more public funding per student than other … [Read more...] about Robin Hood Takes On Belizean Schools