18 governments from Latin America and the Caribbean give out regular monthly cash transfers to almost 130 million poor. These transfers which are known as Conditional Cash Transfers or CCTs and which vary greatly in terms of objectives and coverage, try to alleviate poverty in the short term and develop human capital in the long run. These programs typically focus on children’s … [Read more...] about 8 lessons from giving cash to the poor
Peru
Public Seed Investment: A Formula for Innovation in Peru
By Juan Carlos Navarro Imagine a trip to your local supermarket where you don’t have to pay extra for a package of antibiotic-free chicken breast. It may be coming sooner than you think thanks to a technological innovation program in Peru. San Fernando, Peru’s leading poultry and pork processing firm, has developed the world’s first plant-based food additive that supports … [Read more...] about Public Seed Investment: A Formula for Innovation in Peru
3 good examples of the impact of impact evaluations
A few weeks ago, I published a blog post on some of the unsettling implications of this paper that suggested that some interventions lose their punch when done by public agencies. One of the takeaways was the need to “go up the bureaucratic supply chain” as nicely put by Justin Sandefur in a tweet on the post. In other words, the need to jump over the “challenge of … [Read more...] about 3 good examples of the impact of impact evaluations
One Laptop per Child revisited
This is joint post with Julian Cristiá, Ana Santiago and Eugenio Severín; members of the IDB team that developed the OLPC evaluation trial in Peru. Last March we published a post (also here) with the results of the first randomized impact evaluation of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) model in Peru, which has been widely discussed in the technology and education blogosphere … [Read more...] about One Laptop per Child revisited
And the jury is back: One Laptop per Child is not enough
In 2008 a couple of economists from the IDB visited the Peruvian Ministry of Education to meet with the Education Technology Director. Our purpose was to evaluate an old IDB-project that provided computer labs to middle schools. We were welcomed and were provided with all the support to carry out that evaluation. We were told that the Government's real interest was in … [Read more...] about And the jury is back: One Laptop per Child is not enough