Cash Transfers are probably one of the most researched interventions in the world. The great majority of this research has focused on short to medium term impacts. This is not surprising as the first modern Cash Transfer Program, Progresa (now called Oportunidades), is a 16 years old adolescent. In addition, the evidence on “longer” term effects is still considered weak. A … [Read more...] about Cash transfers, 103 years ago
Mexico
Student Loans Targeted to the Poor
By Agustín Zamora Mariclere Alvarez was halfway towards a communications degree at a private university in Mexico when her parents told her they could not pay for her education anymore because of financial difficulties. Alvarez would have dropped out had it not been for FINAE, a Mexican financial institution that provides college loans to low-income students. “I felt … [Read more...] about Student Loans Targeted to the Poor
Timely thoughts on impact evaluations
Everyone has great ideas when it comes to designing development projects or policies. At the drawing board, and with a bit of ideological support, an abundance of ideas are born that could easily improve countless lives. However, these ideas, while sound in theory, don´t always work. If only there was a time machine to take us to the future to verify the effectiveness of … [Read more...] about Timely thoughts on impact evaluations
3 ideas to improve education quality
On February 2013 the 3rd article of the Mexican constitution was reformed to establish that the State must guarantee education quality. The reform also established that entry into the teaching profession and promotion to supervisory positions in elementary and secondary education provided by the State, must be competitive in order to guarantee appropriate capabilities and … [Read more...] about 3 ideas to improve education quality
Traffic jams
In 1966, the incredible Julio Cortazar published a short story called ‘The Southern Thruway’. An accident happens in a lazy summer afternoon and traffic grinds to a halt. Nothing moves. Everybody waits. One by one people get out of their cars to stretch their legs and some start chatting. Traffic is stuck. Night slowly falls. The engineer in the Peugeot and the woman in … [Read more...] about Traffic jams