What Works to Improve Lives?: What Works to Foster Productive Sector Development

This publication is one of a series of five monographs produced by the Inter-American Development Bank to take stock of the lessons learned from impact evaluations of investments supported by the IDB Group for over a decade across a wide range of economic and social development sectors. This monograph studies the impact of productive sector programs and policies to support workers, private firms, and entrepreneurs, and to promote trade and investment. It presents key lessons on “what works” to increase productivity, including providing training to workers and entrepreneurs, increasing access to credit, promoting entrepreneurship with potential for growth, extending innovation and technology, improving efficiency through the agglomeration of firms, and taking steps to facilitate trade and investment.