This paper studies the impact of access to electricity via solar-powered home systems (SHSs) in rural communities in Peru. Applying propensity score matching at the community as well as at the household level, the authors find that households with SHSs spend less on traditional sources of...

This Annual Report details the Bank's activities in environment and natural resources during 1998. During the past year the Bank has continued to implement the mandates of the Eight Replenishment of 1994 to enhance the environmental quality of Bank operations and support the improvement of...

This paper deals with how to promote distributed generation (DG) done with renewable energy in emerging markets of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), with the purpose of increasing competitiveness and achieving sustainable economic growth. The paper argues that the key rationale for...

This paper aims to present a snapshot of some of the best practices in the promotion and use of renewable energy, and provide practical examples of the development of renewable energy markets that countries in Latin America and the Caribbean can replicate. This brief study provides an overview...

In a partnership spanning more than five decades, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and its member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have invested heavily in economic and social development. The IDB is prepared to meet LAC¿s growing demand for climate change support...

This paper reviews the Bank's lending experience in rural finance and extracts the lessons learned from that experience. It is based on a review of project documents, evaluation reports, and interviews. A sample of 27 projects were studied in detail. Although the review of IDB projects is far...

This report concentrates on the potential for biotechnology research to benefit consumers and producers of food in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its objective is to provide general guidance to IDB lending for agriculture development. The study includes policy suggestions regarding...

The Bank has developed and implemented several initiatives to reduce poverty and to improve rural competitiveness during the past decade. This document updates and establishes operational principles to guide action in this area so that the stated goals of the Mandate can be effectively achieved....

This document identifies priorities for Bank action in the sector to guide the allocation of resources in support of the strategic elements and objectives it describes. The paper aims to facilitate the preparation of loans and technical cooperation programs and to improve their quality, building...

Poverty has a high social cost for countries of the region: it negatively affects all aspects of society because of migration to the cities, destabilizing political consequences, and the pressures that poverty exerts on the environment. This book looks for new ways to alleviate rural poverty,...