A methodology to describe the distributional and behavioural effects of child care subsidies is presented within a micro simulation framework. We discuss the effects of changing the governmental policy to support families with preschool children, from today's subsidisation of spaces at child...

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) cannot be justified because they free public funds. When PPPs are justified on efficiency grounds, the contract that optimally balances demand risk, user-fee distortions and the opportunity cost of public funds, features a minimum revenue guarantee and a...

This brief considers the scope for policy action in seven areas: (1) regulation of microfinance institutions, (2) provision of saving services, (3) product innovation, (4) organizational issues in microfinance, (5) poverty impact of microfinance, (6) agricultural finance, and (7) subsidy and...

Most countries exhibit large and persistent geographical differences in wages, income and unemployment rates. A growing class of ``place based'' policies attempt to address these differences through public investments and subsidies that target disadvantaged neighborhoods, cities or regions....

Economists have engaged for some time in developing methodologies for assessing the economic impact of agricultural research and in undertaking empirical studies to measure this impact. In recent years, they have documented more than 1,800 estimates of rates of return to agricultural research....

Governments, policymakers, and donors attach a great deal of importance to poverty outreach—the extent to which MFIs serve poor and disadvantaged locations—when evaluating microfinance institutions (MFIs). With the above considerations in mind, IFPRI undertook a study of the service...

The spectacular growth of the microfinance industry has been fueled not by market forces but by conscious actions of national governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and donors who view microfinance as an effective tool for alleviating poverty. Since much of the impetus behind this...

Despite achieving a significant cost reduction over the past two decades, the absolute cost of food subsidies in Egypt is still high relative to the benefits received by the poor. There is scope for better targeting food subsidies, in particular those for rationed cooking oil and sugar, both...

High urbanization rates in Latin America are accompanied by an increase in women's participation in the labor force and the number of households headed by single mothers. Reliable and affordable childcare alternatives are thus becoming increasingly important in urban areas. The Hogares...

Despite achieving a significant cost reduction over the past two decades, the absolute cost of food subsidies in Egypt is still high relative to the benefits received by the poor. There is scope for better targeting food subsidies, in particular those for rationed cooking oil and sugar, both...