I just finished reading a fascinating paper on the social impact of urban street paving in Mexico by Marco Gonzalez and Climent Quintana. A previous version of this paper had been presented at the Impact conference in Cuernavaca back in June 2011. It turns out that street paving – mostly with cement - has a significant impact on property values (+43%), land values (+54%) … [Read more...] about Cement is good
impact evaluation
A new evaluation guide for practitioners: labor market programs
With the purpose of providing support for those in charge of overseeing evaluations, we at the Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness at the IDB are producing guidelines on selected topics and methods. This allows non-evaluators to understand the key steps that are necessary for a credible evaluation to take place. Our latest publication is Building an … [Read more...] about A new evaluation guide for practitioners: labor market programs
Do we know how to improve the quality of education?
Improving the quality of education is a challenging task. Even though achieving this goal is a priority on the agenda of every country in Latin America, we do not know too much on how to get there. Rigorous evidence is scarce, and results are mixed on what works. And when effects are found, they are usually small and contingent on a number of conditions dictated by the … [Read more...] about Do we know how to improve the quality of education?
Please wash your hands and save a child
Dr. Atul Gawande in his fascinating book “Better” reports his bewilderment on the mystery on why “the meticulousness of the operating room has not spread beyond its double doors”: even after a year-long campaign in the Hospital in which he works in Boston, 30% of all doctors still did not follow standard hygiene protocols. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention … [Read more...] about Please wash your hands and save a child
AL CAPONE meets to learn how to reduce crime
AL CAPONE is the America Latina Crime and Policy Network, founded by a group of economists interested in understanding the causes and determinants of crime, and also of measuring the impact of alternative policies to reduce crime. On June 23rd and 24th 2011 AL CAPONE met in Rio de Janeiro to talk about crime. Although young, crime economics has grown in quantity and quality in … [Read more...] about AL CAPONE meets to learn how to reduce crime