Water Security Financing Report 2024
Aug 2025
Author(s): African Development Bank;Asian Development Bank;Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank;Council of Europe Development Bank;European Bank for Reconstruction and Development;European Investment Bank;Inter-American Development Bank;Islamic Development Bank;New Development Bank;World Bank
The ten multilateral development banks (MDBs) are committed to joint action to improve global water security by 2030. The joint MDB Water Security Financing Report 2024 is the first annual report…
Sibling Correlations in Schooling around the World: A New Database
Aug 2025
Author(s): Muñoz, Ercio;Jaque, Gabriela
We estimate sibling correlations in schooling (i.e., the fraction of inequality in educational outcomes that can be attributed to factors shared by siblings) for 94 countries, accounting for 85% of…
Research Insights: Can Behavioral Economics Help Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy?
Aug 2025
Author(s): Díaz, Lina M.;Martínez Villarreal, Déborah;Márquez, Karina;Scartascini, Carlos
A large-scale SMS-based campaign in Cali, Colombia, featuring tailored messages addressing key behavioral barriers, increased HPV vaccine uptake by 34% to 55%. Increasing confidence in the vaccine…
Innovative Financial Tools for Neighborhood Upgrading
Aug 2025
Author(s): Welisiejko, Sebastian;Peláez, Enrique;D'Alesio, Mariela;Menezes Fajardo, Washington
In Latin America and the Caribbean, over 120 million people live in informal neighborhoods. The investment needed to address the housing deficit is around USD 1.4 trillion. This represents about 20%…
Survey on Administration and Management of Police in Latin America and the Caribbean (SAMP-LAC): Questionnaire and Methodology
Aug 2025
Author(s): Sutton, Heather;Alvarado, Nathalie;Keefer, Philip
This document outlines the methodology and questionnaire used in the IDB Survey on the Administration and Management of Police in Latin America and the Caribbean (SAMP-LAC), a pioneering tool for…
A Model of Market Power with Formal and Informal Firms: Discussion Paper
Aug 2025
Author(s): Santos, Cezar;Martinez, Tomás R.
Market power among firms is a common feature in many economies, including in developing countries where a significant share of firms operate informally. This paper examines the interaction between…
The Impacts of Restrictions to Individual Rights on Indigenous Lands
Aug 2025 Generative AI enabled
Author(s): Jordán, Felipe;Jaimovich, Dany;Heilmayr, Robert
Many countries in the Americas impose restrictions on Indigenous land transactions to preserve Indigenous ownership, but these policies may inhibit economic growth. This paper evaluates the impact of…
Innovating Tomorrow: The Achievements of the Early Childhood Development Innovation Fund in Latin America and the Caribbean
Aug 2025
Author(s): Inter-American Development Bank
This publication compiles the experiences and lessons learned from the Early Childhood Development Innovation Fund (ECD Fund), an alliance between the IDB and several donors (Fundación FEMSA, Van…
Priorities for Private Investment in the Andean Countries
Aug 2025
Author(s): Manzano, Osmel;Maldonado, Leonardo
The Andean countries are traditionally highly exposed to inter- national prices, primary exports, and foreign investment flows from developed economies. Since 2014, the global downturn has affected…
Education Spending and Economic Growth: Short and Long-term Effects
Aug 2025
Author(s): Contreras, Dante;Galindo, Arturo;Lepe, Ignacio
This paper examines the short- and long-term effects of education expenditure on economic growth using a global panel of 107 countries from 1970 to 2019. Employing a CS-ARDL model with an error…
Building an Optimal Education Workforce
Aug 2025
Author(s): Marotta, Luana;Pérez Alfaro, Marcelo;Eusebio, Javier;Elacqua, Gregory;Ramos, Magali
Ensuring efficient distribution of educational personnel is key to improving the quality and equity of the education system. This technical note presents a conceptual framework for implementing an…
Extended School Say Policies. Why, When and How?
Aug 2025
Author(s): Gamberini, Carla;Della Nina Gambi, Gabriela;Vinacur, Tamara
This publication analyzes Extended School Day (ESD) policies, assessing their relevance in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), as well as their implementation in various international contexts.…
SIUBEN'S: Role in public policy in the Dominican Republic: A case study on the Unified System of Beneficiaries
Aug 2025
Author(s): Monge, Karol Acon ;Chavez Mendoza, Cecilia;Tejerina, Luis
Over the past two decades, the Single Beneficiary System (SIUBEN) has undergone a profound transformation. It was created in 2004 in response to a severe economic and social crisis, with the initial…
30 Years of Social Targeting in Colombia: From Sisbén to the Social Registry of Households: Case study on the System for the Identification of Potential beneficiaries of Social rograms and the Social Registry of Households
Aug 2025
Author(s): Zuluaga, Daniela;Tejerina, Luis
The System for the Identification of Potential Beneficiaries of Social Programs (Sisbén) is Colombias main instrument for targeting social policies. To date, Sisbén has gone through four versions and…
Smart Spending in Education in Latin America and the Caribbean
Aug 2025 Generative AI enabled
Author(s): Elacqua, Gregory;Marotta, Luana;Martínez, Matias;Méndez, Carolina;Nascimento, Danielle
This book offers an analysis of educational financing in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), highlighting that while investment in education is essential, the efficiency and effectiveness in the…
How Tax Reform Design and Information Shape Compliance: Preliminary Results
Aug 2025
Author(s): Barinas-Forero, Andrés Felipe;Blanco, Mariana;López-Luzuriaga, Andrea;Scartascini, Carlos
How does the pace and sequencing of tax reforms influence taxpayer behavior? We design a laboratory experiment to evaluate how individuals respond to gradual versus abrupt tax increases and whether…
Wage Cuts, Social Distributional Preferences, and Political Corruption: Preliminary Results
Aug 2025
Author(s): Barinas-Forero, Andrés Felipe;Scartascini, Carlos
Many countries are considering cuts to public-sector salaries as a path to fiscal consolidation. Yet, can lowering politicians' pay incentivize corruption? This paper examines how wage…
An Approach to Teachers Digital Competency in Latin America
Aug 2025
Author(s): Della Nina Gambi, Gabriela;Forero Pabón, Tatiana;Soto Sira, Virginia Guadalupe;Keuylian, María Laura;Ruiz García, Manuel José
In a context of accelerated digital transformation and a persistent learning crisis, this report presents a regional overview of how teachers in Latin America perceive their digital competencies.…
Impact Report 2025: Transforming for Scale and Impact
Jul 2025 Generative AI enabled
Author(s): Inter-American Development Bank;IDB Invest;IDB Lab
The Impact Report offers a fresh and accessible look at how the IDB Group is working to achieve impact across Latin America and the Caribbean. Formerly known as the Development Effectiveness Overview…
Adapting Monetary Poverty Lines to Reflect the Costs of Disabilities: An Empirical Application to Peru
Jul 2025 Generative AI enabled
Author(s): Pinilla-Roncancio, Mónica;Schwarz, Natalie Vanessa;Smith, Pamela;Stampini, Marco
Persons with disabilities incur extra costs of living (e.g., for personal assistance, assistive devices, medical care, transportation), which are not captured in monetary poverty lines. This has…