Latin America and the Caribbean is in the midst of an educational crisis. Though enrollment in primary school has grown and today is nearly universal, average completion rates for secondary school stand at 64 percent compared to an average of 79 percent for OECD countries. Moreover, only 35 percent of 15-year-old students in Latin America attain minimum competency in math, way … [Read more...] about Leveraging Technology to Reduce Student Dropout and Improve Learning
Fiscal Rules for a Debt-Plagued Region
With a long history of recurrent and costly debt crises, Latin American governments have long sought to find a way to curb the fiscal deficits that stoke the debt problem. Those efforts gathered steam over the course of the 2000s when numerous governments in the region began adopting fiscal rules, which seek to curb politicians' ability to increase spending under political and … [Read more...] about Fiscal Rules for a Debt-Plagued Region
Increasing HPV Vaccination Rates in Latin America: A Guide for Policymakers
Rosa, a 44-year-old woman who lives in Bogotá, has a problem when it comes to getting her 9-year-old girl, Alicia[1], vaccinated with the hugely effective Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine. She's heard of the vaccine, but she hasn't gotten it for Alicia because her pediatrician has not yet mentioned it in any of the girl’s check-ups and she's not sure what the government’s … [Read more...] about Increasing HPV Vaccination Rates in Latin America: A Guide for Policymakers
Carbon Taxes: A Large Impact with Small Negative Economic Effects
As greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reach alarming levels, countries face increasing pressure to adopt more aggressive environmental policies. However, concerns regarding their economic effects and their impacts on different groups of people (distributional effects) can hinder their adoption. Reducing emissions, after all, means reallocating resources away from high-carbon … [Read more...] about Carbon Taxes: A Large Impact with Small Negative Economic Effects
Can Cash Transfers to Non-Poor Households Prevent Poverty?
Over the past five years, social protection has expanded dramatically around the world. In 2020, one in six people globally received government transfers. This expansion in coverage, particularly in upper- and middle-income countries, has produced a new set of beneficiaries: vulnerable, non-poor households. Scaling up the coverage of social protection programs has the … [Read more...] about Can Cash Transfers to Non-Poor Households Prevent Poverty?