This paper examines the causal link between education and democracy. Motivated by a model whereby educated individuals are in a better position to assess the effects of public policies and hence favor democracy where their opinions matter, the empirical analysis uses World Values Surveys to...

In policy circles a lively debate exists regarding the effects on educational outcomes of introducing computers in schools. A number of empirical studies have measured its effect on test scores. There is a lack of empirical evidence, however, on the effects of this type of intervention on...

This paper analyzes the political economy of productivity-related policymaking in Chile following a political transaction cost model (Spiller and Tommasi, 2003; Murillo et al., 2008). The main findings indicate that i) the Chilean policymaking process (PMP) was successful in the 1990s in...

This paper studies the effects of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the school environment on educational achievement. To quantify these effects, the impact is evaluated of a project run by the municipality of Guayaquil, Ecuador, which provides computer-aided instruction in...

The recent financial crisis has initiated pressures for not only policy reform but also fundamental institutional fiscal reforms. This paper explores the connection between economic crises and fiscal institutional reforms in a region that has experienced plenty of both in recent years, namely...

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank reiterated their support for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to establish the basis for a renewed political consensus...

This paper explores the potential the community college model holds for Latin America. Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have experience introducing short post-secondary courses and non university institutions, sometimes as a result of private initiative, sometimes as a matter...

This paper seeks to enlighten a complex and often polemical debate about public and private education. It argues that the distinction between private and public is less important than the rules of the game to which critical actors of the system respond. Based on a review of a wide range of...

En este documento se analiza la organización de las escuelas secundarias en América Latina y el Caribe. Se tratan temas como son la provisión de escuelas para un conjunto estudiantil cada vez más heterogéneo y la triple función de preparar a los alumnos para la educación superior, formar...

There is a growing regional consensus on the need for reform and its urgency in Latin America and the Caribbean. Education reform is driven by growth productivity and global competitiveness concerns, as well as concerns for social equity. The IDB shares with its borrowing member countries a long...