Throughout the twentieth century, there was a notable population shift in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, from rural living situations to urban centers. In 2000 there were 49 cities with populations of over one million, four of them among the 10 largest cities in the world....

Latin America loses about nine trillion cubic meters of water each year, or some 30 percent of the water collected and treated for public consumption. While it is impossible for water systems to deliver 100 percent of their water to the household tap, Latin America could cut those losses by more...

This approach paper describes the Country Program Evaluation (CPE) of IDB's assistance to Mexico during the five-year period 2007-2011, and it is expected to serve as input for preparation of the IDB's Country Strategy with Mexico for the period 2013-2018. In conducting CPEs, the IDB applies...

The present paper explores the relationship between political competition and effective public goods delivery systems in a decentralized context to study whether the awareness generated through such a competitive environment and the existence of more political options are a part of the causal...

This paper analyzes the problem of sub-national revenue mobilization in Peru and proposes several policy reforms to improve collection performance while maintaining a sound revenue structure. In particular, the paper analyzes the current revenues of regional and municipal governments and...

This study is designed to help practitioners prepare and evaluate institutional reforms for education and health programs. It provides an analytic framework for use by public officials and researchers, with case studies that illustrate a wide range of actual practice, and a set of lessons...

This paper contributes to an agenda that views the effects of policies and institutional reforms as dependent on the structure of political incentives for national and subnational political actors. The paper studies political incentive structures at the subnational level and the mechanisms...