This paper evaluates the success of National Literacy Program (PNA) “Yo Si Puedo”. First, we evaluate whether the implementation of PNA is associated with a change in the level and trend of illiteracy, and if such changes were sufficient to reduce the incidence of illiteracy below 4% - a...

This paper assesses the impact of Bolivia’s school subsidy program, Bono Juancito Pinto (BJP), on school attendance. BJP is a relatively small cash transfer (less than 30 dollars per child per year) given conditional on being enrolled into a public school and on regular school attendance....

Agriculture can serve as an important engine for economic growth in developing countries, yet yields in these countries have lagged far behind those in developed countries for decades. One potential mechanism for increasing yields is the use of improved agricultural technologies, such as...

Over 755 million adults worldwide are unable to read and write in any language. Yet the widespread introduction of information and communication technology offers new opportunities to provide standardized distance education to underserved illiterate populations in both developed and developing...

This document presents an impact evaluation of the pilot program Mi Primer Empleo Digno (MPED) – an active labor market program that provides classroom training and paid internships to low income youth from January 2009 to June 210 in main cities in Bolivia. Taking advantage of the...

This paper presents the impact evaluation of Crédito Productivo Individual from Banco de Desarrollo Productivo S.A.M – government second-tier bank which channels resources toward productive activities in Bolivia. This financial product is specifically directed to micro and small enterprises...

Celebrated by academics, multilateral organizations, policymakers and the media, Mexico’s Progresa/Oportunidades conditional cash transfers program (CCT) is constantly used as a model of a successful antipoverty program. This paper argues that the transformation of well-trained scholars into...

We apply a standard tax-and-benefit-incidence analysis to estimate the impact on inequality and poverty of direct taxes, indirect taxes and subsidies, and social spending (cash and food transfers and in-kind transfers in education and health). The extent of inequality reduction induced by direct...

Noting that Africa’s resource-rich countries have not translated their wealth into sustained economic growth and poverty reduction, this paper shows that by transferring a portion of resource-related government revenues uniformly and universally as direct payments to the population, some...

The “Palma” is the ratio of national income shares of the top 10 percent of households to the bottom 40 percent, reflecting Gabriel Palma’s observation of the stability of the “middle” 50 percent share of income across countries so that distribution is largely a question of the tails....