This document provides a guide to the key aspects of implementing Propensity-Score Matching (PSM) methodology. It summarizes the basic conditions under which PSM can be used to estimate the impact of a program and the data required, presenting examples of PSM applications. It explains how the...

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of public credit lines in promoting the performances of Brazilian firms. We focus on the impact of the credit lines managed by BNDES and FINEP in fostering growth measured in terms of employment, labor productivity and export. For this purpose, we use a...

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...

The Programa Nacional de Becas Estudiantiles is a conditional cash transfer program designed to promote long-term human capital accumulation among Argentine youth and to reduce poverty. This study follows a 1999 cohort of students from 24 schools for five years. Propensity score matching methods...

Social investment funds, a widely used tool of development efforts, aim to support and strengthen local capacity for effective implementation of social and economic infrastructure projects through participatory, community-driven approaches. This working paper investigates whether these...

This paper is part of the project: "IDB's Science and Technology Programs: An Evaluation of the Technology Development Funds (TDF) and Competitive Research Grants (CRG)." This paper analyzes the role of National Research Funds in promoting scientific production in emerging economies. The...

This working paper surveys impact evaluations of government Technology Development Funds (TDFs) in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Panama. All the evaluations were done at the recipient (firm) level using data from innovation surveys, industrial surveys, and administrative records of the granting...

Government-owned development banks have often been justified by the need to respond to financial market imperfections that hinder the establishment and growth of promising businesses, and as a result, stifle economic development more generally. However, evidence on the effectiveness of these...

This paper analyzes the impact of the Farm Modernization and Development Program (PREDEG) on the technology uptake and productivity of Uruguayan farmers. Using a unique panel dataset, the authors combine propensity score matching techniques and fixed effects models to estimate the program's...

In this paper, the authors analyzed the effectiveness of the Component 1 of the Livestock Pilot Project (LPP-1) in fostering the efficiency of the Uruguayan livestock producers. The study used a unique panel dataset of 520 beneficiary and 470 non-beneficiary producers, dataset that we...