bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bridging Integration Gaps: Scenarios and Policy Recommendations to Promote Physical Infrastructure and Reduce Intra-Regional Trade Costs
Authors:   World Bank,   Inter American Development Bank,   Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean,   Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
Published: March 2024

This policy brief is intended to serve as the basis for the discussion of the Ministers of Finance on action needed to promote physical infrastructure and reduce intra-regional trade costs, in the context of the Third Meeting of the Finance Ministers of the Americas and the Caribbean held in Lima (Perú), on May 28, 2010. It is argued that the Latin American and Caribbean region must bridge three interrelated policy gaps in order to advance its integration agenda. First, despite advances in trade liberalization, significant progress still must be made to perfect, harmonize, and bridge existing trade agreements. Second, the logistical costs related to the coverage and quality of physical infrastructure and lack of regulatory harmonization pose a serious constraint to regional integration and global competitiveness. Third, although cross-border strategic investments hold the potential to further advance the region¿s integration, their execution would be accelerated by overcoming certain institutional and operational obstacles.
Rural Electricity Access Penalty in Latin America: Income and Location
Authors: Jimenez Mori Raul Alberto
Published: March 2024

This paper examines three intrinsic underlying variables affecting the provision of rural electricity services: household income, household location and a country's relative wealth in terms of per capita income. A cross section of nationally representative household surveys from sixteen Latin American countries provides a recent snapshot of access to electricity in the region. This examination shows that despite recent progress in rural electrification, lowincome countries still face significant challenges. Rural electricity coverage is as low as 55% for the poorest income group in some LAC countries, while around 90% of the total access gap is concentrated among the poorest households living in rural areas of low-income countries. Location explains most of the lack of access, however in low-income countries, income is also a key barrier to electrification. These patterns translate into a sizeable electricity access penalty mainly affecting poor households in poor countries, emphasizing the need for effective rural electrification programs to promote inclusive economic growth and social well being.
Development Challenges in Bolivia
Authors: Beverinotti Javier
Published: March 2024

This policy brief presents a summary of the development challenges facing the country.
Jamaica Financial System: Diagnostic and Recommendations
Authors: Osambela Zavala Emilio , Naranjos Lander Martin
Published: March 2024

The financial system of Jamaica has undergone several structural changes in the last decades, moving from a heavy foreign participation to nationalization, and from nationalization to privatization. This document discusses the problems faced by financial institutions and insurance companies in Jamaica and the actions taken by the government to deal with the situation of the financial system. It also evaluates some institutional characteristics of the Jamaican economy, the financial safety network, and the risk management system.
Towards an Alternative Development Model in Suriname
Authors: Martin Dougal
Published: March 2024

This study advocates the adoption of an alternative development model in Suriname. Suriname adopted a state-centered and inward-looking development model in the early 1980s, although elements of the model had been present long before that time. Chapter II discusses nine major elements of that development model and their implications for policymaking. Chapter III reviews the performance and consequences of this 'old' development model and argues that it led Suriname astray and served the country badly. The misguided policies inspired by the 'old' development model have had damaging consequences for Suriname's development. Over the last two decades, economic growth has been minimal and living standards have stagnated. Poverty has persisted and probably worsened.
Integration and Trade in the Americas: Fiscal Impact of Trade Liberalization in the Americas
Authors: Roca Jerónimo , Villela Luiz Arruda , Barreix Alberto Daniel
Published: March 2024

The purpose of this document is to inform Bank staff and other interested parties about recent developments in integration and trade among the countries of the Western Hemisphere and between these and other countries and world regions.
The Role of the Primary Mortgage Market in the Development of a Successful Secondary Mortgage Market
Authors: Lea Michael J.
Published: March 2024

This report is one of a series of best practice papers that stem from a regional conference on the development of mortgage securitization held at the IDB. Using Mexico as an example, this paper focuses on the elements of the primary mortgage market that are relevant to establish a secondary mortgage market.
How and When to Intervene?: Criteria to Guide Interventions
Authors: Rivas Gonzalo
Published: March 2024

Doubts exist in many Latin American countries regarding the possibility of successfully implementing policies to support productive development. After briefly presenting the theoretical background that justifies this kind of interventions, this document reports on the headway made in the development of criteria to guide the implementation of such policies - the area that has been poorly developed in the experience of the countries in the region.
A Key to Hemispheric Integration
Authors: Gómez Lora Sergio , Blanco M. Herminio
Published: March 2024

FTAA negotiations have reached a decisive stage, as the deadline to conclude negotiations is less than a year away. After nine years of debate, the moment is approaching to make decisions that could finally bring to a reality the agreement that emerged from the 1994 Summit of the Americas. The November 2003 ministerial meeting in Miami met the objective of providing the FTAA process with new momentum in the difficult wake of the Cancún failure. Ministers of the continent made the negotiating rules more flexible, and opened the possibility that different countries could assume different levels of obligations in the FTAA. This resulted in the removal of one of the major ¿straitjackets¿ of the hemispheric negotiations. However, the Miami instructions do not contemplate a critical path to implement the ministerial mandate and to ensure that the initiative can be concluded, if possible, in the agreed date. The great challenge of the moment is, precisely, to translate the Miami agreement into a concrete instruction for the nine FTAA negotiating tables. In order to contribute to such an important effort this paper intends to answer the following question: Is there a formula, some principle or group of principles which could facilitate the implementation of the Miami 2003 Ministerial agreements?
Integration and Trade in the Americas: A Preliminary Estimate of 2002 Trade
Authors: Crawley Andrew , Covarrubias María de la Paz , Cornejo Rafael
Published: March 2024

Total Western Hemisphere exports to the world fell by over 6 percent in 2002, continuing the decline recorded in 2001 but at a lower rate. The international recovery evident in early 2002 subsequently lost momentum and the downturn has continued to have adverse effects on the trade of the Americas.
Central American Report No. 1 (2000)
Authors: Guzmán Eduardo Alonso
Published: March 2024

The Central American Common Market (CACM) comprises Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, the signatories of the General Treaty on Economic Integration in 1960. The basic pattern of economic integration in Central America was based on a free trade area, with a common external tariff and standardized customs rules, a preferential payments system that operated until the start of the 1980s, and a scheme for the subregional coordination of economic policy. This annual report aims to facilitate access to information for a broad potential readership interested in the Central American integration process. It offers an overview of the macroeconomy in the subregion, an analysis of trade flows in the subregion, investment flows in the subregion, access conditions and other aspects of the Central American common market, and finally , other relevant issues for Central American integration.
Financial Services in the Trading System: Progress and Prospects
Authors: Miller Eric T.
Published: March 2024

In the winter of 1996, Canada's third largest financial institution, the Bank of Montreal, launched a now infamous advertising campaign in which it asked the question: Can a bank change? While the resulting ads naturally responded in the affirmative, many other large financial institutions were asking themselves the same question. The dramatic acceleration since the mid-to-late 1980's of the rate at which banks are establishing branches and/or investing in financial institutions outside of their home markets combined with the dismantling by governments around the world of many traditional regulatory restrictions is resulting in the re-making of the financial services industry in its entirety. Central to this process has been a wave of mergers and alliances, many of which increasingly cut across the classical sectoral sub-divisions (commercial banking, securities, insurance etc.). The end result has been the gradual emergence of singular financial amorphisms capable of offering any service globally. In addition to these structural changes, an important result of this wave of mergers, alliances and foreign investment has been that financial institutions have become global players in terms of market presence, rather than just loan portfolios. This, in turn, has meant that the volume and importance of international trade in financial services has substantially increased in recent years. As the international trade of financial services has developed, governments have sought to establish a framework of rules to govern it. However, this process has not occurred in a vacuum. Over the past 15 years, international trade in goods has become substantially freer, international trade in services (of which financial services constitute a part) has grown dramatically, and international capital flows have become more open. While volumes have been written about both international trade in goods and international capital flows and a burgeoning literature exists on trade in services, comparatively little has been written specifically about international trade in financial services. This paper is designed to help fill this void. The core of the paper consists of three specific cases: (1) the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA); (2) the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); (3) the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade in Financial Services. These selections constitute a logical progression. The CUSFTA was the first trade agreement ever to include provisions on financial services. The NAFTA, negotiated shortly thereafter contains the most far-reaching provisions in the world in this area. Finally, the WTO Financial Services Agreement marks the first time that such disciplines have been successfully negotiated on a global level. In order to make an examination of an Agreement consisting of 56 different schedules possible, this section will focus on the commitments of a number of sample countries in a specific region of the world, namely Latin America.
ICT Cluster Meeting: Monterrey, Mexico, May 3-4, 2005
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

The first meeting of the ICT Cluster was convened on 4-5 May, 2005 at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), in Monterrey, Mexico.
Labor Reform in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Role of the Multilateral Investment Fund
Authors: Grover Neelima , Lissfelt Jennifer
Published: March 2024

MIF has experience in workforce capacity building, labor force modernization, skills standards, and labor re-conversion in the human resource sector. This paper presents an overview of eight MIF human resource projects, their key success factors, as well as recommendations for future success.
MERCOSUR Report No. 1 (1996)
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

MERCOSUR has become less operational, despite government claims that it will continue to play a leading role in the international insertion strategies of its member countries for some years. The current crisis is clearly far from over. It is important to note that the enormous difficulties that MERCOSUR faces stem not only from changes to the conditions of competition triggered by the devaluation of the Brazilian currency and the fragility of the Argentine economy. A number of more important issues and impasses undoubtedly have come into play to threaten the future of the integration process.
MERCOSUR Report No. 9 (2003-2004)
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

The period beginning in the first half of 2003 opened a window of opportunity for MERCOSUR¿s internal agenda. Convergence among the member countries¿ exchange rate policies, the resumption of economic growth in the subregion, and the assumption of power on the part of heads of state who are explicitly favorable to the bloc created an auspicious environment for intra -MERCOSUR understanding. The Asunción Summit in June 2003 revealed a new level of ambition in the integration project, and its outcomes amounted to an effort to recover the group¿s internal negotiating agenda.
Raúl Prebisch: Power, Principle and the Ethics of Development: Essays in Honour of David H. Pollock Marking the Centennial Celebrations of the Birth of Raúl Prebisch
Authors: Kerner Daniel , Toye Richard , Birdsall Nancy , Iglesias Enrique V. , Dosman Edgar J. , Love Joseph L. , Toye John , Pollock David H. , Mallorquín Carlos
Published: March 2024

Raúl Prebisch was one of the great figures in Latin America, a dominant regional and international personality since the 1930s, and it is therefore fitting to honor the centenary of his birth in Tucumán, Argentina in 1901 with a special lecture and conference on his life and work. Moreover, it is equally appropriate that this Prebisch Lecture be delivered by David H. Pollock, one of his closest and most distinguished collaborators over many years. Linked by a close friendship and a commitment to Latin America, Professor Pollock both witnessed and documented the Prebisch legacy as banker, thinker, institutional-builder and international diplomat.
Summary of the working group report on MIF strategy
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

This document provides an overview of the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), its strategy, history, strategic orientation and project characteristics, core activities such as small enterprise development, microenterprise, improving market functioning, financial sector reform and capital market development, finally it also present its project clusters. This document provides an overview of the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), its strategy, history, strategic orientation and project characteristics, core activities such as small enterprise development, microenterprise, improving market functioning, financial sector reform and capital market development, finally it also present its project clusters.
Trade Related Capacity Building: An Overview in the Context of Latin American Trade Policy and the MERCOSUR-EU Association Agreement
Authors: Vodusek Ziga , Devlin Robert
Published: March 2024

Trade has become an increasingly important strategic objective for developing countries. This is a relatively new phenomenon for many of them. Hence the demand to intensify an insertion into the world economy often advances faster than their institutional capacities to formulate effective strategies, trade policies and institutions. This is further complicated by the fact that the insertion is increasingly being undertaken through negotiation of ever more complex trade agreements with important asymmetries between the parties and large repercussions from market opening. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that trade-related capacity building (TRCB) has increasingly gained the attention of developing countries and donors alike. By practicing the art of the possible many advances have been achieved. But many shortcomings are still hindering the delivery of effective TRCB; ironically, some of them being outgrowths of attempts to perfect TRCB.
Enclave Projects: What Are They and What Can Be Done?
Authors: Davidsen Elizabeth , Deruyttere Anne , Montgomery Robert , Alzina Virginia , Nolet Gijs , Huici Rodolfo , Ketterer Juan Antonio , Jiménez Javier
Published: March 2024

This report analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of including positive social actions in enclave projects after appropriate mitigation and compensation policies are in place, and addresses both the question of the mandatory or optional nature of these actions and the question of the responsible executing and financing agent or agents. The report defines enclave projects, reviews the experience of international financial institutions, the privatesector and the IDB with including positive social programs in enclave operations, and presents review findings and conclusions.
The Emergence of China: A View from Central America
Authors: Saavedra-Rivano Neantro , Agosin Manuel R. , Rodas Martini Pablo
Published: March 2024

This study covers the impact of the emergence of China on Central American economies, with special emphasis on Guatemala and Honduras. The issue of the China¿s impact is generally approached from the standpoint of threats hovering over the economies of Central America (and of others in Region 2, such as Mexico and the Dominican Republic), without noting that the rapid growth and great openness of the Chinese economy also present new potentialities that the countries of the region could turn to their own advantage. This study presents analyses and recommendations for enhancing the competitive advantages already developed by Central American countries, particularly in the apparel and textiles sector, and others envisioned as possible, vis-à-vis the challenges that they face from the strong competitiveness of Chinese industries. But it also considers how to take advantage of the new opportunities offered by the Chinese market for exports of the region¿s goods and tourist services, and also the policies needed to begin to attract direct investment from that country.
Trust Funds at the Inter-American Development Bank: Enhancing Development Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

Between 1992 and 2003, Latin American and Caribbean countries accessed around US$300 million from the IDB trust fund program for non-reimbursable technical cooperation projects. This report offers a comprehensive look at the role played by trust funds with the region. It is based on a desk review of all 45 trust funds for technical cooperation for 1628 projects. Available data and documentation was complemented as best possible through interviews with project teams, fund managers and other professionals within and outside the Bank. The first section makes reference to loan operations and the loan project cycle, and analyzes trust fund resource distribution and resource management in this context. The second section showcases the contributions of trust funds to four main Bank program areas: competitiveness, social development, environment and natural resource management, and modernization of the state. In addition to producing the data and analysis for this report, this review feeds into a current, critical process of reinforcing the links between Bank trust fund operations and wider Bank programs.
Who Decides on Public Expenditures?: A Political Economy Analysis of the Budget Process in Paraguay
Authors: Molinas José R. , Pérez-Liñán Aníbal
Published: March 2024

Over the last decade, every Paraguayan administration has faced greater political challenges and financial pressures than its predecessor. The result has been a chronic fiscal deficit since 1995. This study disentangles the budget-making process in Paraguay by studying the key players influencing the budget cycle (preparation, approval, execution, and control), their powers, and their incentives. The document discusses how the incentives for cooperation affect the conditions for the sustainability of public expenditures, the efficient allocation of resources, and the representative quality of the spending. First the general theoretical framework based on both a transaction cost theory of the policymaking process and the public expenditure management literature is introduced. The authors emphasize the interactions between historical legacies, the overall institutional design, and budgetary procedures as factors that shape politicians' incentives to display cooperative behavior in the elaboration of the budget. Then, Paraguay's historical background, its current institutional framework, and the emerging features of the policymaking process are described. The formal and informal rules that guide the budget policy-making process are also addressed. The analysis is based on the formal instruments (the constitution and related laws) and on in-depth interviews with several policymakers in the executive branch and in Congress. Finally, it is discussed how the generally low incentives for cooperation have created negative conditions for the sustainability of public expenditures, the efficient allocation of resources, and the representative quality ofthe spending.
Jamaica Joint Country Financial Accountability Assessment (CFAA) and Country Procurement Assessment (CPAR)
Authors:   World Bank,   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

The main objective of the Joint Country Financial Accountability Assessment (CFAA) and the Country Procurement Assessment (CPAR) is to contribute to the implementation of Public Sector Modernization Vision and Strategy for 2002-2012 and its Medium Term Socio-Economic Policy Framework. It also provides the basis for further donor harmonization. Building on earlier analytical work, it focuses on specific initiatives that can directly result in improvements in the country's management of public resources and in reducing public debt. This CFAA/CPAR does not duplicate the detailed information on overall financial accountability and procurement systems and practices that is already available in earlier diagnostics, but rather focuses on selected areas which the CFAA/CPAR team and the Government agreed required further improvement for the Government to meet its goal of establishing a modern public financial management system (PFM). The present CFAA/CPAR confirmed the persistence of systemic issues which continue to affect the systems' performance, and identified opportunities for generating new momentum for the ongoing PFM reform in Jamaica.
Report on: Environmental Regulation and Supervision of Infrastructure Investments
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

This evaluation report (RE-241) is inserted within the overall context of the Environmental Management strategy activities in progress within the Bank. The assessment of five infrastructure projects in Bolivia, Chile, and Brazil contributes directly to lessons learned from past experience, particularly as they apply to the management functions of regulating the use of the environment and implementing, monitoring and enforcing policies. Specifically, the purpose of the Evaluation Office work program is to learn lessons about the usefulness and adequacy of Bank guidelines and to examine how it oversees compliance regarding infrastructure projects. As a result, analysis and evaluation of environmental management impacts, conformity with loan contract stipulations, and effectiveness of enforcement instruments, will serve to highlight areas for strengthening country capacity to implement Bank-supported investments.
Free and Nondiscriminatory Access to Airports: A Proposal for Latin America
Authors: García-Montalvo José , Bosch Antonio
Published: March 2024

This article discusses the regulatory framework and organization of airports in several Latin America countries in order to identify obstacles preventing free and non-discriminatory access to airport. In particular, the article exposes the basic elements of air transportation liberalization and discusses airport organization options and some basic principles on airport regulation. After reviewing the obstacles in Latin America for the integration of air transportation services, the article establishes a set of recommendations to promote competition and air transport market integration in Latin America.
Roles for the Private Sector, Governments and Multilateral Creditors in Latin American Private Infrastructure
Authors: Chrisney Martin D. , Vives Antonio
Published: March 2024

This paper discusses a growing consensus in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean about the importance of the efficient management of infrastructure services, not only for economical but also for social reason. Specifically, the barriers for infrastructure projects will be discussed in three categories: financing, public-private partnerships, and putting the deals together. Included is a review of each of these areas and an examination of the role of the major stakeholders in project financing, which together clarify why private sector infrastructure investment has not lived up to expectations.
Proyecto Joven: New Solutions and Some Surprises
Authors: Castro Claudio de Moura
Published: March 2024

This paper describes Proyecto Joven, a project to train unemployed youth in Argentina and discusses several critical issues facing it. It should not be considered as an authoritative view on this project funded by the Inter-American Development Bank but rather as an attempt to elicit a dialogue with those who know the project better or who are familiar with the theme. Proyecto Joven is an attempt to increase employability and productivity targeting activities to youth aged 16 to 29 in the lower socioeconomic levels. By training unemployed youth and by making them more productive and teaching them the appropriate work ethic and attitudes, the program attempts to improve their chances of getting a job. The report presents a discussion of the program, its socioeconomic environment and an initial examination of critical issues which deserve attention, particularly in light of the government's decision to request a new loan to continue implementing the project.
Secondary Education in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Challenge of Growth and Reform
Authors: Wolff Laurence , Castro Claudio de Moura
Published: March 2024

This paper examines the current status of secondary education in Latin America in the context of world-wide economic changes and identifies a wide variety of policy options for ensuring that secondary education can play a positive role in the region's economic and social development. The paper begins with a review of the current situation with regard to quality, efficiency, equity, costs, and structure using a variety of statistical, analytical, and anecdotal sources. It continues with a summary of policy options with regard to quality improvement and quantitative expansion, including scenarios for meeting financial needs. An annex provides a detailed planning exercise estimating, on a country by country basis, the costs of meeting both quantitative and qualitative goals.
Integrating Freshwater Ecosystem Function and Services with Water Development Projects
Authors: Braga María Isabel J.
Published: March 2024

This paper describes the conditions necessary to harmonize project objectives with the conservation of freshwater ecosystems. It also provides information on how to incorporate freshwater ecosystem biodiversity, function, and services with water development projects. One sections of the papers presents a description of biodiversity in the context of freshwater ecosystems, including a short description of those ecosystems. Subsequent parts of the paper describe the recommended approach to harmonize water development projects and the freshwater ecosystem function, as well as the role of the Environmental Impact Assessments in this process, and potential impacts of different categories of water related projects.
Conflict Management and Consensus Building for Integrated Coastal Management in Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors:   Resource Analysis
Published: March 2024

This paper provides a summary of conflict management issues and options in the challenging cultural, ecological, economic and social context of Latin America and the Caribbean. Dealing with conflicts is one of the greatest challenge facing integrated coastal management because most of these systems involve not only property rights, fishing rights, and use rights, but they also usually involve common property resources as well. This study argues that conflict management, starting with a careful analysis of potential conflicts in the early stages of project preparation, should become an explicit component of integrated coastal management. Case studies for the Bay Islands in Honduras, the Gulf of Fonseca, and the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua (Pearl Lagoon area), all areas affected by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, are presented.
Forest Financing in Latin America: The Role of the Inter-American Development Bank
Authors: Puustajärvi Esa , Salmi Jyrki , Simula Markku
Published: March 2024

This study includes an overview of financing and financial instruments for sustainable forestry and in particular the roles of the public and private sectors in financing. The study also discusses the role of the IDB financing in forestry, their mandate and comparative advantages and measures to promote demand for forest financing. The overall objective of this study is to present recommendations for the IDB's forest related lending and support to institutional and policy development in borrowing member countries. The recommendations in this paper may be used for future forestry considerations for rural development and natural resource management programs.
The Optimal Sample Size for Contingent Valuation Surveys: Applications to Project Analysis
Authors: Darling Arthur H. , Vaughan William J.
Published: March 2024

One of the first questions that has to be answered in the survey design process is "How many subjects should be interviewed?" The answer can have significant implications for the cost of project preparation, since in Latin America and the Caribbean costs per interview can range from US$20 to US$100. Traditionally, the sample size question has been answered in an unsatisfactory way by either dividing an exogenously fixed survey budget by the cost per interview or by employing some variant of a standard statistical tolerance interval formula. The answer is not to be found in the environmental economics literature. But, it can be developed by adapting a Bayesian decision analysis approach from business statistics. The paper explains and illustrates, with a worked example, the rationale for and mechanics of a sequential Bayesian optimization technique, which is only applicable when there is some monetary payoff to alternative courses of action that can be linked to the sample data.
Lessons Learned in Rural Finance: The Experience of the Inter-American Development Bank
Authors: Wenner Mark D.
Published: March 2024

This paper reviews the Bank's lending experience in rural finance and extracts the lessons learned from that experience. It is based on a review of project documents, evaluation reports, and interviews. A sample of 27 projects were studied in detail. Although the review of IDB projects is far from exhaustive, it nevertheless serves to identify some important lessons for the design of future interventions. This paper will help policymakers, practitioners, academics, and consultants to better understand the history and types of interventions that the IDB has made in the past. The hope is that new operations will benefit from the lessons of the past and build on existing strengths. As we move into an era of increased market integration and globalization, the importance of well-functioning financial markets cannot be overemphasized. This paper shows how rural financing in Latin America and the Caribbean might be improved in the coming years.
Land Titling and Indigenous Peoples
Authors: Plant Roger , Hvalkof Soren
Published: March 2024

This paper has the following main objectives: to review the actual or potential impact of land titling and cadastre programs on indigenous populations; to recommend actions that would minimize risk and ensure that land projects are tailored to the aspirations and needs of indigenous peoples; to outline a typology of indigenous landholding systems and to identify any areas requiring further research. The research done by the consultants draws from country and site visits, a review of Bank projects as well as those of other international agencies, and meetings with government authorities, representatives of indigenous organizations and other relevant actors. The countries visited were Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru. In each visit, the consultants focused on both law and policy concerns and made extensive site visits to highland areas and tropical regions, including the Amazon basin. Though the study reflects this field experience, it is written as a policy paper aiming to have the widest possible relevance for Latin America as a whole.
Group Support to the Microenterprise Sector: (1990-2000)
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

The IDB Group, guided by its Strategy for Microenterprise Development, has made the creation of a sustainable market of services to the sector one of its most important priorities during the past decade. This report presents an overview of the contributions the IDB has made to the microenterprise sector, outlining success cases and highlighting some of the important lessons learned during the last ten years. It provides the reader with a sense of the accomplishments of the IDB, but also with a general understanding of the context in which IDB support has taken place. Finally, it serves as a blueprint for further action in the donor community, identifying recent trends and innovations and indicating some of the IDB's priorities for the coming years.
Participation and Sustainability in Social Projects: The Experience of the Local Development Program (PRODEL) in Nicaragua
Authors: Stein Alfredo
Published: March 2024

This document analyses the experience of community participation and sustainability in the Local Development Programme (PRODEL) in Nicaragua. The goal of PRODEL is to improve the physical and socioeconomic conditions of families living in poor communities in eight small and mid-size cities. This is achieved through the involvement of poor families in the co-financing and co-management of small infrastructure and urban improvement projects and by lending small loans for housing improvement and financing microenterprises.
Road Concessions: Lessons Learned from the Experience of Four Countries
Authors: Beato Paulina
Published: March 2024

The objective of this paper is to analyze some issues and challenges related to private toll road developments in Latin American countries and explore new schemes to mitigate some problems that often appear in road concessions. The paper is illustrated with the regulations of four contries and four concession contracts. The concessions are Acceso Norte to Buenos Aires in Argentina, El Cortijo-el Vino in Colombia, Talca-Chillán in Chile, and Ruta Interbalnearia between Montevideo y Punta del Este in Uruguay. Included is a discussion of the legal framework for private sector involvement in road services, the features of concessionaires, the criteria for selecting proposals, main risks of toll roads, public guarantees and contributions in concession contracts, and financial issues of concessionaire companies.
Social Investment Funds and Indigenous Peoples
Authors: Renshaw Jonathan
Published: March 2024

The aim of this paper is to offer a brief analysis of the social investment funds for indigenous people that have been financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and to consider how far they have been effective in meeting the needs of indigenous people. This paper identifies two types of targeting mechanisms: 1) Inclusive funds that do not distinguish indigenous people from other sectors of society based on ethnicity; and 2) Exclusive funds or components intended only for the indigenous or ethnic population. The author discusses the merits of both approaches and identifies four factors that determine their effectiveness in reaching targeting goals: 1) Geographic isolation; 2) Social exclusion based on racial of ethnic prejudice; 3) Social and cultural factors including language, structures of authority and economic values; 4) The capacity of the indigenous organizations.
Can Financial Market Policies Reduce Income Inequality?
Authors: Westley Glenn D.
Published: March 2024

This paper seeks to answer two questions: How can we further develop a country¿s microfinance industry and what impact might this have on the country¿s income distribution?. Also it presents substantial arguments and data to support the contention that improving the access of micro and small enterprises to financial services could have an important salutary impact on a country's income distribution. To demonstrate this, the paper shows first that many poor own or are employed by smaller enterprises, second that smaller enterprises are indeed poorly served with formal and semi-formal credit, and third that providing financial services to smaller enterprises increases their income and employment and reduces income inequality to an important degree. Using household survey data from 15 Latin American countries, the paper finds that while the microenterprise sector accounts for 56 percent of all earners in the region, it includes 70 percent of the region's poor earners (with 35 percent of the poor earners being single-person-firm owners and the other 35 percent microenterprise employees).
Microfinance: From Village to Wall Street
Authors: Jansson Tor
Published: March 2024

This paper presents a synopsis of the current state of the microfinance industry in Latin America. It provides a rough assessment of the achievement and outreach of the industry; it offers revealing information on the financial performance of 20 microfinance institutions; and it outlines some of the major issues currently facing the industry. The underlying theme of the paper is the microfinance industry's gradual integration into established markets and structures, specifically as it relates to financial regulation and supervision and the industry's access to financial and capital markets.
Good Practices in Marketing for Micro and Small Enterprise Products: Cases from Latin-America
Authors: Mikkelsen Lene
Published: March 2024

It has been established that access to profitable markets is a key factor which determines the long-term success for all businesses. For small and microenterprises, however, various constraints limit this access, such as inadequate technology, geographic isolation, lack of raw materials and inefficient production. By providing ways to overcome these constraints, marketing service providers play an essential role in developing the businesses of small and micro producers. Based on three case studies of marketing service providers -from Colombia, Nicaragua and El Salvador- dealing with handicrafts, nontraditional agricultural products, and household goods, this study focuses on the possibility for short and long-term sustainability of marketing services. The study discusses the impact ancillary services have on the ability for partial or full cost-recovery and for institutional sustainability, and the business strategies adopted by each marketing service provider.
Indicators for Disaster Risk and Risk Management: Programme for Latin-America and The Caribbean: Belize
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

This documents contains Disaster Risk and Disaster Management indicators for Belize calculated according to the methodology developed by the Bank. This System of Indicators had three specific objectives: i) improvement in the use and presentation of information on risk. This assists policymakers in identifying investment priorities to reduce risk (such as prevention and mitigation measures), and directs the post disaster recovery process; ii) to provide a way to measure key elements of vulnerability for countries facing natural phenomena. This report presents only the updated or new results for the country and there will be not found detailed methodological explanations because they are not the scope of this report.
Climate Change: A Research Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors: Galiani Sebastián , Chisari Omar O.
Published: March 2024

This research agenda outlines pertinent issues needed to produce an informed assessment of the strategies and policies LAC and international organizations should adopt with respect to climate change. The report makes three contributions: i) identifying actions that could be valuable but have not been highlighted; ii) advising on actions that could be ineffective and costly, given limited resources; and iii) recommending an evaluation of what elements require further analysis before objectives are translated into action.
Stigma, Discrimination, and HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors: Maluwa Miriam , Aggleton Peter , Parker Richard
Published: March 2024

This paper focuses on a rather unexplored dimension to date of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: the resulting stigma and discrimination and its impact on the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS programs. It presents a conceptual framework that explains the interplay between stigma, discrimination and human rights. The study also provides guidelines for developing programmatic activities that situate HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination within the broader social context where a variety of stigmas related to class, race, gender and ethnicity exist. Thus, the framework and the paper can be useful both to those fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS as well as to those fighting exclusion in other social contexts. This paper was prepared as a background document for a seminar entitled HIV/AIDS and Development: Challenges and Responses in Latin America and the Caribbean held at the Annual Meeting of the Boards of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and Inter-American Investment Corporation in March 2002.
Good Practices in Poverty Targeting in IDB Projects in 1997
Authors: Deutsch Ruthanne
Published: March 2024

Good practices in targeting, as highlighted here, with an additional effort to go beyond the letter of the law in the identification of project beneficiaries. Effective and efficient targeting mechanisms attempt to better link the project's specific purposes with its intended group of beneficiaries. The IDB projects listed in this document all represent cases where the design of the operation made extra efforts to better target the poor that go beyond the PTI Classification Criteria. These design elements include a variety of instruments, such as the careful definition of beneficiary eligibility and selection criteria, use of poverty maps, application of qualitative methodologies, and more rigorous analysis of survey data to determine appropriate types of project interventions.
Agricultural Biotechnology and Rural Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Implications for IDB Lending
Authors: Echeverría Ruben G. , Trigo Eduardo , Pray Carlos E. , Traxler Greg
Published: March 2024

This report concentrates on the potential for biotechnology research to benefit consumers and producers of food in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its objective is to provide general guidance to IDB lending for agriculture development. The study includes policy suggestions regarding agricultural biotechnology issues in IDB-funded programs. Special attention is given to the problems and opportunities of biotechnology for developing agriculture in LAC; the implications of biotechnology for public research organizations, including aspects of regional funding for research; biotechnology's potential contribution to reducing poverty, protecting the environment and providing food security.
Institutions and Productive Development Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean: Methodological Approach and Preliminary Results
Authors: Chrisney Martin D. , Kamiya Marco
Published: March 2024

This document aims to contribute to the development of a tool to analyze Productive Development Programs (PDPs). The methodology for mapping and measuring of institutional performance (MIDI, from its acronym in Spanish) constitutes an effort to quantify and measure the organizational aspects that contribute to a better balance between the costs and benefits of PDPs. The objective of the MIDI is to measure the quality of the programs and the institutions that are behind them and assess their ability to achieve their stated goals. It is in this vein that the MIDI establishes metrics to analyze how these organizational arrangements are planned, implemented, and monitored.
Evaluating the Impact of Science, Technology and Innovation Programs: a Methodological Toolkit
Authors: Maffioli Alessandro , Mohnen Pierre , Vázquez Gonzalo , Crespi Gustavo
Published: March 2024

The purpose of this guideline is to provide ideas and technical advice on how to measure the effectiveness of Science, Technology and Innovation Programs (STIP). The paper addresses the specific challenges of evaluating STIP, from the assessment of the intervention logic to the choice of the most appropriate method to solve the attribution problem. Much attention is devoted to the topic of data, discussing pros and cons of different data sources, data quality issues, and strategies for data collection. The paper analyzes in detail the potential application of experimental and quasi-experimental methods to STIP.
Housing Finance in Central America: What is Holding It Back?
Authors: Rivera Luis , Sancho Francisco , Rosales-Tijerino Julio
Published: March 2024

This paper surveys housing finance in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama. The development of a secondary mortgage-backed securities market in Costa Rica is very limited despite a broad legal framework, while in El Salvador it is nonexistent and in Panama has not grown due to high liquidity. In Costa Rica's subsidy policy, core institutions responsible for housing policy act as facilitators of private agents. This contrasts with the dispersion of policy and institutional efforts identified in Panama and El Salvador. Government subsidies are especially directed to households where more of 90 percent of the housing deficit is concentrated. A solution based on public budgets is not sustainable, requiring an active role of the private housing finance sector. Increasing the purchase capacity of families and reducing the cost of financing are necessary conditions to reduce housing deficits.
Anticorruption Activities Trust Fund: Report on Preparatory Activities
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

Recognizing corruption as a serious threat to economic growth, social equity, and good governance, the IDB signed an agreement in March of 2007 with the Government of Norway for the establishment of the Bank's first Anticorruption Activities Fund. This report summarizes the principal activities, the methodology, and the results obtained by the AAF technical team during the AAF's preparatory activities phase.