Do quality at entry assessments enhance the delivery of development projects? In this paper we take advantage of approval and execution systems in place at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to examine whether projects that have higher quality at entry-captured through grading scores...

Why are growth rates in Latin America so disappointing? This book reviews the results of an ambitious research project to determine the binding constraints to growth, that is, the barrier whose removal would yield the greatest benefit in terms of growth. Included are case studies from seven...

In today's knowledge-based societies, understanding basic scientific concepts and the capacity to structure and solve scientific questions is more critical than ever. Accordingly, in this paper we test an innovative methodology for teaching science and environment in public primary schools where...

Este estudio presenta los resultados de la evaluación de impacto del programa CRIAR. Este programa tiene como objetivo incrementar los niveles de ingreso y seguridad alimentaria a través de mejoras en la productividad que surgen por la adopción de tecnologías agropecuarias. Para este estudio...

This paper examines the efficacy of three conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs in Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua in mitigating the potential negative effects of an income shock caused by falling prices of coffee, an important cash crop to many CCT participants. A theoretical household model...

Promotion of foreign direct investment (FDI) has been a priority policy goal in Central America, Panama and Dominican Republic for the past twenty years. Fiscal benefits are among the policies that have been used to attract it. At first sight the model followed has been fruitful. In 2013 the...

The purpose of this guideline is to provide ideas and technical advice on how to measure the effectiveness of Science, Technology and Innovation Programs (STIP). The paper addresses the specific challenges of evaluating STIP, from the assessment of the intervention logic to the choice of the...

This report is part of a larger project undertaken by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) designed to obtain information which will assist the planning of poverty alleviation programs in a number of countries in Latin America. The specific aim of this report is to identify the conditions...

This document analyses the experience of community participation and sustainability in the Local Development Programme (PRODEL) in Nicaragua. The goal of PRODEL is to improve the physical and socioeconomic conditions of families living in poor communities in eight small and mid-size cities. This...

The purpose of this paper is to identify best practices in the design and implementation of community-driven rural development (CDRD) projects in Central America with special emphasis on Nicaragua. The methodology used in this study is two-fold. First, a literature review of the academic...