Extended Country Program Evaluation: El Salvador 2015-2024
Date issued
May 2025
Subject
Monitoring and Evaluation;
Country Program Evaluation
JEL code
H83 - Public Administration • Public Sector Accounting and Audits
Country
El Salvador
Category
Technical Notes
This Extended Country Program Evaluation (XCPE) assesses the relevance, effectiveness, and sustainability of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) support to El Salvador during 2015-2024, through the last two Country Strategies (2015-2019 and 2021-2024) and the corresponding Country Program. The XCPE reports exclusively on the IDB Group's work and aims to support accountability and learning, making recommendations to improve the next strategy and program.
The evaluation uses mixed methods, including a review of literature and operational documents, portfolio analysis, two in-depth studies (MSME finance and infrastructure), and fieldwork combining project visits (21) and more than 80 interviews (including semi-structured interviews) with IDB Group staff, government counterparts, private sector clients, implementers, and beneficiaries.
The Country Program comprised 178 sovereign-guaranteed and 64 non-sovereign-guaranteed operations totaling US$5.13 billion. Results were mixed across program areas. In the fiscal area, the IDB Group contributed to strengthening revenue collection and fiscal sustainability, including support to tax administration improvements such as electronic invoicing, alongside reforms and technical assistance; contributions to spending efficiency and equity were limited. In the social area, contributions were strongest in health and housing, while education interventions were affected by implementation delays. In the productive area, contributions included infrastructure improvements such as 141.4 km of rural roads and increased power generation capacity (600 MW), support to MSME access to finance largely through financial institutions, and technology-enabled improvements to customs processes.
OVE recommends: (1) strengthen relevance, strategic selectivity and feasibility in the next strategy, supported by deeper diagnostics and use of technical cooperation; (2) strengthen risk management and anticipate response guidelines; (3) strengthen coordination across IDB Group windows and mobilize third-party capital; (4) proactively address execution challenges, anticipating them in early stages of program implementation; and (5) promote sustainability through clearer design requirements, demonstration effects, and institutional capacity strengthening.
The evaluation uses mixed methods, including a review of literature and operational documents, portfolio analysis, two in-depth studies (MSME finance and infrastructure), and fieldwork combining project visits (21) and more than 80 interviews (including semi-structured interviews) with IDB Group staff, government counterparts, private sector clients, implementers, and beneficiaries.
The Country Program comprised 178 sovereign-guaranteed and 64 non-sovereign-guaranteed operations totaling US$5.13 billion. Results were mixed across program areas. In the fiscal area, the IDB Group contributed to strengthening revenue collection and fiscal sustainability, including support to tax administration improvements such as electronic invoicing, alongside reforms and technical assistance; contributions to spending efficiency and equity were limited. In the social area, contributions were strongest in health and housing, while education interventions were affected by implementation delays. In the productive area, contributions included infrastructure improvements such as 141.4 km of rural roads and increased power generation capacity (600 MW), support to MSME access to finance largely through financial institutions, and technology-enabled improvements to customs processes.
OVE recommends: (1) strengthen relevance, strategic selectivity and feasibility in the next strategy, supported by deeper diagnostics and use of technical cooperation; (2) strengthen risk management and anticipate response guidelines; (3) strengthen coordination across IDB Group windows and mobilize third-party capital; (4) proactively address execution challenges, anticipating them in early stages of program implementation; and (5) promote sustainability through clearer design requirements, demonstration effects, and institutional capacity strengthening.
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