The net benefits of CAFTA and their distribution among sectors of the economy and social groups are major concerns of policy makers in Central America. The objective of the Bank's support to Central America is to assist in the design of policies that maximize total net benefits while improving...

By focusing on human capital investment, the Mexican Oportunidades program will influence the economic choices of the rural poor. To understand how beneficiaries may alter their behavior as a result of this intervention, this paper uses administrative data to analyze the economic activities of...

The purpose of this guideline is to provide suggestions on designing impact evaluations for agricultural projects, particularly projects that directly target farmers, and seek to improve agricultural production, productivity and profitability. Specific issues in evaluating agricultural projects...

Este estudio presenta los resultados de la evaluación de impacto del programa CRIAR. Este programa tiene como objetivo incrementar los niveles de ingreso y seguridad alimentaria a través de mejoras en la productividad que surgen por la adopción de tecnologías agropecuarias. Para este estudio...

The volume Assessing the Effectiveness of Agricultural Interventions is the Special Topic for the Development Effectiveness Overview 2008-2009. The Special Topic provides an in-depth analysis of what we know about the effectiveness of projects in one of the Bank¿s specific areas of intervention...

This paper examines the PROGRESA and PROCAMPO cash transfer programs in Mexico and evaluates their impact on household food security and nutrition. These two programs differ in their gender targeting, with PROGRESA aimed at women and PROCAMPO generally at men, and program conditionality, with...

This paper assesses the current rural development practice against the main trends in recent rural development thinking, based on evidence from four country case studies. While much progress has been made in understanding the need to look beyond only agriculture for the promotion of productive...