For women microentrepreneurs, access to financial services matters. It is critical to their ability to make productive investments in their businesses. As part of IDB's efforts to strengthen women's roles in economic development, the Women in Development Unit undertook a study to analyze the...

We study the socio-economic gradient of child development on a representative sample of low- and middle-income children aged 6-42 months in Bogota, using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, a high quality test based on direct observation of the child's abilities. We find a statistically...

Iron deficiency anemia is the most prevalent nutritional deficiency in the world, affecting more than 2 billion people in developing countries. We show that a modest cash transfer substantially reduced anemia among women of reproductive age in rural Ecuador.

This report examines evidence from post-Mitch Central America and disasters in other parts of the world to identify the ways disasters affect women and to highlight women's participation in prevention, relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction efforts. This report is based on background papers...

This study asks a simple question that has significant implications for gender equality. After decades of increasing female participation in the labor market, advances in the labor legislation and persistent gender wage gaps, what are the effects of motherhood on labor force participation and...

This paper presents the principal issues related to socio-cultural analyses carried out in conjunction with IDB operations as a tool for maximizing project benefits to poor and excluded groups and for ensuring compliance with many of the Bank's safeguard policies. A companion manual to this...