bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Approach Paper: Country Program Evaluation: Belize 2008-2012
Authors: Schijman Agustina , Conroy Hector , Puerta Juan Manuel , Palma Alejandra , Ramos Johanna
Published: March 2024

Belize's 2008-2012 Country Strategy approved in June 2009 stated that the IDB would continuously monitor fiscal sustainability and calibrate its financing in accordance with changing country conditions. Rather than establishing specific sectors for IDB support, the Country Strategy identified four development objectives to which it would contribute: (1) ensuring sound fiscal management and public sector transparency; (2) creating or restoring the conditions for sustainable, private sector-led growth; (3) improving human resource development and social protection; and (4) rehabilitating road infrastructure damaged by floods in November 2008. The evaluation will analyze whether program implementation was consistent with the country's development needs and with the objectives laid out in the Country Strategy. The evaluation will use various data sources including interviews with IDB staff, government authorities, people participating in IDB operations, beneficiaries, as well as the review of IDB documents, readily available evaluations, and primary data when available.
How Can Job Opportunities for Young People in Latin America be Improved?
Authors: Rosas-Shady David , Ripani Laura , González-Velosa Carolina
Published: March 2024

Job training programs for vulnerable youth are the main response of Latin American governments to address the problem of inadequate employment opportunities for young people. Despite its importance, knowledge about these programs is scarce. This study contributes to filling this gap in the literature by presenting new evidence on the effectiveness of six of these programs operating or that were implemented in Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Dominican Republic. This analysis uses the results of impact evaluations of these programs and the results of qualitative surveys of young participants and employers, and in-depth interviews to training centers, employers and policy makers. The main results confirm the limited evidence available, namely, that these programs have little impact on the probability of getting a job (although there is a high heterogeneity in these impacts), but a significant impact on job quality. From this analysis, we propose a research agenda to improve knowledge on the functioning and impact of these programs, and provide a series of recommendations to improve the design and increase the effectiveness of youth training programs.
Ex Post Evaluation of Mitigation Measures in the Samalayuca II and Monterrey III Thermal Power Generation Projects
Authors: Gonzalez Diez Verónica M.
Published: March 2024

This evaluation conducts an ex post review of the mitigation measures in the Samalayuca II and Monterrey III thermal power generation projects in Mexico. In general, it can be concluded that both thermoelectric power plants took into account most of the environmental impacts and mitigation measures recommended by the literature. A more active role in project design, supervision, and monitoring by the IDB would increase the technical value added. Social action plans need to be considered, as well as local community participation during project design and monitoring. Targeted studies to solve environmental problems can reduce uncertainty when choosing alternatives for managing associated risks. The participation of multidisciplinary teams and local specialists in the drafting of evaluation and monitoring reports would strengthen the technical aspects of the reports.
Oversight Note on Credit Risk Management
Authors: Soriano Alejandro
Published: March 2024

This evaluation examines IDB's management of credit risk of Non-Sovereign Guaranteed Operations. Although the IDB is not subject to the Principles for the Management of Credit Risk issued by the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision, these principles have been used as guidelines for this assessment. It can be concluded that the IDB largely complies with Basel's credit risk management principles. To further develop what is already a solid foundation for its credit risk management system, it is recommended that the IDB adopts a comprehensive Credit Risk Framework that clearly defines its risk appetite for NSG. Such framework should spell out the objectives and procedures supporting the desired NSG loan/guarantee portfolio. The strengthening of the Portfolio Management Function is also recommended to complement the current credit administration and risk management functions being carried out by the originating divisions within SCF and OMJ, PMU and RMG. The IDB should also address the risks posed by the current absence of an integrated information system to support the loan/guarantee granting, administration, risk and portfolio management.
Evaluation of the IDB Emergency Lending: 1998-1999
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

In 1998, in the context of "unanticipated" international financial turmoil, and concerned about the negative impact on the region's countries, the Board of Governors authorized the Board of Executive Directors to waive certain limitations on the lending program to permit the Bank to approve fast-disbursing lending on emergency terms for a period of one year. The Bank eventually approved nine emergency loans distributed among six countries for a total dollar value of US7.6 billion dollars. OVE has prepared this report (RE-251) to present the evidence on achievements with these emergency loans to date. Because of the short time frame, no direct field research has been possible, creating primary reliance on existing Bank data sources, principally project performance monitoring reports, tranche release reports and, where available, project completion reports (PCRs).
Summary of OVE Work on Development Effectiveness
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

The Bank's Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE) has undertaken several studies during 2001 which bear on the issue of development effectiveness. Two of these, a Report on Development Effectiveness and a Report on the Results of the 2001 Evaluability Assessment Exercise, will be presented to the Board of Executive Directors early in 2002. Because both bear on issues currently before the Committee of the Board of Governors, this note (RE-258) is designed to summarize briefly the principal conclusions of these studies and suggest the implications of these findings for possible future changes in Bank procedures.
A Review of Selected Non-Reimbursable Technical Cooperation: Guyana, Nicaragua and Bolivia
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

This report (RE-283) assesses how selected national non-reimbursable technical cooperation operations (TC) in Guyana, Nicaragua and Bolivia have met the objectives of Bank's technical cooperation policy guidelines (AT-80-10). The report examines these TC operations within the context of the Bank's Charter and Technical Cooperation Policy (AT-80-10), which provide a framework for considering the development effectiveness of TC operations. The report also seeks to derive lessons learned from the analysis to contribute to the design of future Bank TC operations, but does not aim to draw definitive conclusions that can be universally applied to the entire TC program. Rather, it seeks to reach findings that can serve as guideposts for Bank consideration and action.
Synthesis of OVE Evaluations of Bank Action for Private Sector Development
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

This report (RE-287) briefly summarizes the main points arising out of the Office of Evaluation and Oversight's evaluations of Bank actions in private sector development over the past three years. It seeks to pinpoint the principal strategic issues in earlier OVE papers that go beyond assessment of the impact of activities in specific areas. Chapter 1 briefly outlines the private sector context over the past decade and the principal trends observed in each of the different evaluation reports. This is supplemented, in Chapter 2, by a summary of points of agreement found in the aforementioned evaluations. The report concludes with a short review of a number of findings from the study of evaluations and analyses of best practices in strategic planning.
Evaluation of the Bank's Direct Private Sector Lending Program: 1995-2003
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

This report (RE-303) comprises the evaluation of the Bank's Direct Private Sector Lending Program performed by the Office of Evaluation and Oversight to determine the developmental effectiveness and additionality of private sector activities relative to other Bank activities. The evaluation team's work throughout 2004 included a thorough review of 55 projects and in field visits to five countries. The team surveyed sponsors, finance partners, and regulators in all the countries in which the Bank was directly backing private sector projects and interviewed Private Sector Department (PRI) and other Bank staff. The report is divided into four chapters with supporting annexes numbered to match each chapter: 1) Strategy mandate and evaluation questions; 2) Brief overview of the context and market trend analysis; 3) Summary of consolidated project evaluation findings, and 4) Findings and recommendations.
Report on the Evaluability of Bank Country Strategies
Authors:   Inter American Development Bank
Published: March 2024

This is a report (RE-309) of the Office of Evaluation and Oversight's main findings regarding the office's two years process of review of Bank Country Strategies. The report is organized in four chapters. The first chapter describes the proposed architecture of country strategies, as they are laid out in Management's Country Paper Guidelines. The second chapter outlines the methods used to analyze the country strategies reviewed. The third chapter presents and discusses results. The last chapter summarizes findings and presents recommendations. OVE's contribution to the assessment of the effectiveness of the new guidelines has been centered on the issue of evaluability, which is a measure of how well a proposed intervention (strategy or project) initially sets out criteria and metrics to be used in its subsequent evaluation.
Country Program Evaluation: Nicaragua (2008-2012)
Authors: Soldano Miguel , Fryer Michelle , Rogers David , Sadeghi Patricia , Elías Carlos , García Salomón , Vargas Sebastián
Published: March 2024

The 2008-2012 Country Program Evaluation (CPE) concludes that the Bank's program was programmatically aligned with Government's National Plan for Human Development and addressed five areas essential for growth and poverty reduction. The one significant omission in the Bank's program from a development perspective was the lack of attention to governance an area identified as a priority for future strategies by the previous CPE. The Bank played a central role in financing the country's fiscal gap over the CPE period, reflecting increased country demand in the context of the global financial crisis. Nevertheless, time constraints limited the Bank's analytical efforts to identify important policy reforms in the first series of three programmatic policy-based loans, resulting in relatively weak policy content in those loans. Even with significant increases in the level of concessional resources allocated to Nicaragua and greater complexity in programming, the efficiency of program execution improved. In terms of developmental effectiveness, project-level results have generally been poorly documented. Furthermore, the Bank has at times overlooked the issue of recurrent cost financing for services initiated under investment loans, leading to the untimely suspension of programs and undermining the effectiveness of the initial investment. In light of CPE findings, OVE recommends that the Bank: (i) undertake further diagnostic and analytic work to delineate the Bank¿s potential role and value-added; (ii) continue to support improvements in the efficiency of public expenditure, including in the electricity sector; (iii) strengthen the measurement and reporting of results at the project level; (iv) identify potential sources of financing for the continued provision of services beyond project completion; and (v) consider allowing D-2 countries access to emergency lending facilities to meet fiscal needs in times of crisis.
Mid-term Evaluation of IDB-9 Commitments: Overview
Authors: Huppi Monika , Gray Cheryl , Soriano Alejandro
Published: March 2024

In 2010 the Governors of the IDB approved two formal agreements -the "Cancun Declaration" and the "Report on the Ninth General Increase in the Resources of the Inter-American Development Bank"- leading to the Bank's Ninth General Capital Increase (IDB-9). These agreements tied IDB-9 to a series of reforms broadly intended to strengthen the strategic focus, development effectiveness, and efficiency of the Bank to help it remain relevant and competitive in the years ahead. IDB's Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE) was charged with conducting a midterm evaluation to assess whether these reforms were being implemented fully and effectively. This overview report summarizes the findings of OVE's evaluation and provides 10 priority recommendations to help the Bank move forward effectively on this broad range of fronts. More in-depth findings and suggestions in individual areas are available in the 22 background papers accompanying this report.
Senior Public Management Systems in Latin America: Analysis, Perspectives and Conclusions
Authors: Figueroa Ramón
Published: March 2024

This is the last version available of this document which was commissioned by the Regional Policy Dialog. This document analyzes the experiences of senior public management officials within the central governments of Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Chile. Its goal is to present a panorama of the stages of development of the systems of senior management in Latin America and their standing as key elements in promoting the public management modernization processes in the region.
Approach Paper: A Comparative Analysis of SME Models Supported by IDB: The Case of Brazil
Authors: Pires Jose Claudio Linhares , Beuermann Diether , Cravo Tulio , Lodato Simon
Published: March 2024

The evaluation of the effectiveness of SME-oriented projects has gained particular relevance in recent years, as they have been used as an instrument to help achieve IDB's strategic goals, defined by the IDB's Ninth General Capital Increase (IDB-9) mandate, such as poverty reduction and competitiveness. LAC experienced considerable economic growth over the past decade, and SME projects have been considered as tools to contribute and sustain progress based on private sector initiatives. The Bank has undertaken significant efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of different individual SME support models and their spillovers. However, less is known on whether and how alternative SME-oriented interventions reinforce each other. Accordingly, the main objective of this evaluation is to provide rigorous evidence of impacts of different models of SME support where IDB has been active.
Evaluation of IDB's support to the Plan Puebla Panama Initiative
Authors: Pires Jose Claudio Linhares
Published: March 2024

The IDB has been supporting the Plan Puebla Panama (PPP) since it was launched in 2001 by the Central American (CA) countries and Mexico as a regional strategy created to pursue economic and human development as well as to preserve the ecological wealth of the Mesoamerican region. OVE evaluated the results of the Bank's PPP activities by conducting analysis of the Bank's support of the PPP's planned activities. In light of its findings, OVE's main recommendation was that the Board should renew Management's mandate to promote the PPP and approve budget allocation to finance the Bank's support to the PPP-related activities.
Country Program Evaluation: Paraguay (2009-2013)
Authors: Martin Lucia , Corrales Maria Elena , Ramirez-Goldin Ana , Puerta Juan Manuel , Vera Diego , Azuara Herrera Oliver
Published: March 2024

This document is the evaluation of the IDB's Country Program with Paraguay for the 2009-2013 period. The period evaluated here (hereinafter, the 'review period') was characterized by a political crisis and the intensification of the agricultural export model. This evaluation has been conducted in accordance with OVE's mandate (RE-238 corr.) and the Protocol for Country Program Evaluation (RE-348-2). Its main purposes are to facilitate accountability and identify lessons learned that may help improve the Bank's future program. The evaluation took into account the new country strategy document formats (CSD, GN-2468-6) developed by Management. The most significant practical effects of the new CSD formats were: (i) the de facto separation between the preparation of the CSD and country programming; (ii) the new emphasis on sector notes; and (iii) the update of the strategy's results matrix and the programming documents. To achieve the dual purpose of accountability and learning, the team has put together a portfolio that includes all the operations approved in the period (2009-2013) together with those approved previously, but executed during this period. The specific details of the portfolio and the main sectors are included in the annexes to this document (Portfolio, Energy, Water and Sanitation, Roads, Social Sector, and Agriculture). During the preparation of this document some 150 people were interviewed, including the Bank's main counterparts (the Minister of Finance and his two predecessors), executing units, members of civil society, scholars, representatives of multilateral and bilateral agencies with a presence in Paraguay, the Bank's Representative (ad interim), and two former Representatives of the Bank in Paraguay, IDB staff at the Bank's Country Office and at Headquarters. The mission also visited eight projects to observe the outcomes and challenges of the Bank's program in situ.
IDB's Response to Key Challenges in Citizen Security, 1998-2012
Authors: Buitrago Paola , Dammert Lucia , Garcette Nicolas , Tetreault Alayna , Rivera-Cira Tirza , Guerra Nancy , Delgado William , Soares Yuri , Nazario Olga , Cruz José Miguel , Morales Carlos , Cano Ignácio , Fevre Chloe
Published: March 2024

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB, or the Bank) has been involved in citizen security projects for almost two decades. Since 1999, strategic Bank documents have highlighted the importance of citizen security for the continued development of the region. Over the past 15 years the Bank has approved 17 citizen security loans for $481 million, operating in a clear framework that prohibits the use of Bank financing for activities related to drug and arms trafficking. In light of the Bank's increased focus on citizen security, IDB's Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE) has undertaken a two-part evaluation of citizen security at the Bank. The first part of the evaluation, completed in 2013, was an in-depth comparative evaluation of five citizen security projects, intended to give a better understanding of the elements of design and supervision that led to successful implementation. This second part of the evaluation is meant to complement the findings of the indepth project review by looking more broadly at the Bank's engagement in the citizen security sector. It focuses on the Bank's work from 1998 to 2012 and addresses two questions: How has the Bank's engagement in citizen security evolved, as measured through its formal strategy and citizen security portfolio? What particular challenges characterize citizen security, and how has the Bank responded to these challenges?
Approach Paper: Country Program Evaluation: Honduras (2011-2014)
Authors: Soldano Miguel , Aulet María , Tetreault Alayna , Alonso Pablo , Pires Jose Claudio Linhares , Willoughby Christopher , Vellani Saleema , Azuara Herrera Oliver
Published: March 2024

As part of its 2014 annual work plan, the Office of Evaluation and Oversight(OVE) is preparing the Country Program Evaluation (CPE) with Honduras for the period 2011-2014. This approach paper defines the evaluation's scope. This CPE therefore aims to analyze the Bank's relationship with the country, taking an independent and comprehensive view, particularly the program's relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability, including both financial and nonfinancial products offered by the Bank during the period under analysis. This evaluation is intended as an input to the new country strategy document being prepared by the Bank. This CPE is the fourth OVE evaluation of the Bank's program with Honduras. Past evaluations covered the periods 1990-2000 (document RE-263), 2001-2006 (document RE-328), and 2007-2010 (document RE-390). This CPE covers the Bank's program for the period 2011-2014.
Evaluability Review of Bank Projects 2012
Authors:   Office of Evaluation and Oversight
Published: March 2024

The importance of evaluation as a tool to promote learning and improve effectiveness has been extensively recognized in the Bank and reflected in the attention given to evaluability. As a consequence, OVE is required by the IDB-9 Agreement to report annually on the evaluability of the Bank's portfolios. This is the second annual report and assesses only Sovereign Guaranteed (SG) projects approved in 2012, since the tools for analyzing Non-Sovereign Guaranteed projects have been under revision. In addition to reporting on the overall evaluability of the SG projects approved in 2012, the report also analyzes whether the introduction of the Development Effectiveness Matrix (DEM) in 2011 - and the strength of DEMs since then - appears to be linked to stronger project monitoring during implementation through the Progress Monitoring Report (PMR).
Comparative Project Evaluation of Direct Support to Producers: Annex 2
Authors: Valdés Conroy Héctor , Schijman Agustina , Molina Adriana
Published: March 2024

This is the second of seven detailed reports published with the evaluation Review of the Bank's Support to Agriculture, 2002-2014: Evidence from Key Thematic Areas conducted by the Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE). This second annex evaluates a number of projects, approved between 2002 and 2014, that provide direct financial support to agricultural producers to enable them to adopt new technologies and improve their market access. To this end, it first establishes an analytical framework for each objective, before conducting a comparative analysis of the projects.
Approach Paper: Country Program Evaluation: Suriname (2011-2015)
Authors: Stone Leslie F. , Fryer Michelle , Alonso Pablo , Pires Jose Claudio Linhares , Scholl Lynn , Valdés Conroy Héctor , Hernández María José , Molina Adriana , Maciel Odette , Vargas María José
Published: March 2024

As part of its 2015 annual work plan, the Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE) is preparing the evaluation of the Bank's country program with Suriname for the period January 2011-December 2015. This paper sets out the proposed approach and methodology for the planned Country Program Evaluation (CPE), OVE's third for Suriname. Past evaluations covered the periods 1980-2004 (RE-318), and 2007-2010 (RE-381).
Ending the Tradeoff: Harmonizing Efficiency and Effectiveness in Environmental Licensing and Enforcement Systems
Authors: Baldwin Gunnar
Published: March 2024

This paper is intended to foster discussion of ideas for strengthening the critical relationship between licensing and enforcement in Latin American Countries (LACs), building on the findings of earlier dialogues, including the DR-CAFTA forum held in November 2014 in Santo Domingo. To facilitate discussion, this paper groups the broad range of issues involved into five core themes: the harmonization of goals, proactive approaches, drafting licensing terms, coordinating tasks, and institutional capacity.
How does Avancemos Work?: Best Practices in the Implementation of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors: Hernández Romero Karla
Published: March 2024

The Avancemos conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, which has operated since 2006 in Costa Rica, focuses on families living in extreme poverty and social vulnerability with adolescents and youth between the ages of 12 and 25. In August 2015, nearly 157,000 students received the cash transfer upon meeting certain co-responsibilities associated with school attendance and completing the school year in secondary school. Beneficiaries are eligible based on their score in the Target Population Information System (Sistema de Población Objetivo - SIPO), calculated through the Social Information Record (Ficha de Información Social - FIS). To receive the benefit, the mother or guardian of the student needs to sign a contract with the Joint Institute for Social Welfare (Instituto Mixto de Ayuda Social - IMAS) in which they commit to meeting the abovementioned co-responsibilities. Verification of the co-responsibilities is carried out by the IMAS in conjunction with the education centers. The payments are made monthly through a prepaid card issued by the National Bank of Costa Rica (Banco Nacional de Costa Rica - BNCR). This document is part of a series of studies carried out in several countries of Latin America and the Caribbean with the objective of systematizing understanding of the operations of CCTs. The other case studies are available on the IDB´s Conditional Cash Transfers website.
Approach Paper: An Evaluation of the Effects of IDB Supported BRT Systems on Mobility and Access for the Poor in Cali and Lima
Authors: Corsetto Lisa , Bouillon César P. , Oviedo Daniel , Scholl Lynn , Gray Cheryl
Published: March 2024

Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems have become an increasingly popular approach to addressing mobility and environmental problems in urban areas in Latin America and around the world. Building on OVE's recent evaluation, this analysis of BRT Systems and Poverty in Cali and Lima aims to expand the aforementioned evaluation of the BRT project results with respect to their objectives of improving mobility and access for the poor.
Approach Paper: Evaluation of the IDB's Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative
Authors: Biau Julie , Corrales Maria Elena , Rivera Johanan , Crespo Anna Risi Vianna , Puerta Juan Manuel , Quintanilla Oscar , Stone Leslie F.
Published: March 2024

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has historically been very active in engaging in the region in urban projects, particularly urban improvement programs. This document presents OVE's approach to evaluate IDB's support to cities through the Emerging Sustainable Cities Initiative (ESCI). This evaluation was requested by the Board of Directors and included in OVE's work program for 2016-2017. It has as its main objective to assess ESCI's value-added to IDB's support to urban development.
Country Program Evaluation: Argentina (2009-2015)
Authors: Soldano Miguel , Corrales Maria Elena , Britton Kathryn , Bouillon César P. , Rose Jonathan , Jansson Maya , Palomino Alejandro , Puerta Juan Manuel , Di Tata Juan Carlos , Azuara Herrera Oliver
Published: March 2024

As part of its 2015-2016 annual work plan, the Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE) prepared the Bank's country program evaluation (CPE) with Argentina for the 2009-2015 period. This CPE is OVE's third independent evaluation of the IDB's country program with Argentina. The first (document RE-299) covered the 1990-2002 period and focused on analyzing Bank support prior to and during the 2001-2002 crisis. The second OVE evaluation (document RE-361) covered support during the Argentine economy's strong recovery in the post-crisis period (2003-2008). The 2009-2015 CPE evaluates the Bank's program with the country over the period subsequent to the 2009 international crisis, which was guided by the 2012-2015 strategy (document GN-2687) and updates to the 2004-2008 strategy (document GN-2328) over the 2009-2011 period. This CPE seeks to analyze the Bank's relationship with the country, taking an independent view and assessing, in particular, the program's relevance and effectiveness, including both financial and nonfinancial products offered by the Bank during the period under analysis. This evaluation is intended as an input for the new country strategy document that the Bank is preparing.
Approach Paper: Country Program Evaluation Ecuador 2012-2017
Authors: Gonzalez Diez Verónica M. , Ávalos Nayda , Hernández María José , Bouillon César P. , Fernández Illescas Coral , Sadeghi Patricia , Ramírez Nadia , Pires Jose Claudio Linhares , Rodrigo Maria Fernanda , Di Tata Juan Carlos , Maqueda Gassos Stephany
Published: March 2024

This document defines the scope and methodology for the evaluation of the country program of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or Bank) with the Government of Ecuador for the 2012-2017 period. This Country Program Evaluation will use the traditional dimensions of evaluation -relevance, effectiveness, and sustainability (OECD-DAC). These dimensionsprovide a complete view of the program, in terms not only of its importance, but also its results and the means used to achieve them.
Regulation of Beneficial Ownership in Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors: Knobel Andrés
Published: March 2024

The international community is increasingly aware that adopting laws, regulations, and mechanisms to gather and exchange information about “beneficial owners” (BOs) is crucial for combating tax evasion, money laundering, corruption, and the financing of terrorism. This paper explains the concept of beneficial owner, describes the standards in this area that countries should commit to, and presents the ratings achieved under the FATF and GF evaluations by each one of the 26 Inter-American Development Bank borrowing member countries regarding their beneficial ownership laws and regulations. Moreover, it analyzes the definitions of beneficial ownership currently in use in these 26 countries. In Latin America and the Caribbean, regulation in this area is very uneven. Although most countries have in place regulations defining the concept of beneficial ownership, thesedefinitions do not always comply with international standards. In general, all of the countries have room to improve their regulations and, especially, their compliance in practice.
A Comparative Analysis of IDB Approaches Supporting SMEs: Assessing Results in the Brazilian Manufacturing Sector
Authors: Pires Jose Claudio Linhares , Lodato Simon , Cravo Tulio , Vellani Saleema
Published: March 2024

The Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB, or the Bank) conducted an impact evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the main types of programs through which IDB has supported small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America and the Caribbean. It does not evaluate Bank projects directly or compare executing agencies, models of interventions or financial instruments, but rather examines the effectiveness of Bank-supported approaches implemented by Brazilian institutions. Focusing only on the manufacturing sector, the evaluation examines how these interventions affect firm-level outcomes such as employment, real wages, exports, and patent and trademark registration. The overarching objective of this exercise is to provide insight for future strategic decisions regarding the targeting of Bank support to SMEs. The rationale for choosing Brazil is threefold: (i) Brazil represents 55% of IDB's total volume of lending supporting SMEs; (ii) country stakeholders have collected data from SMEs exposed to various types of interventions, allowing OVE to learn about alternative SME support approaches in Brazil; and (iii) OVE has access to comprehensive datasets that facilitate impact evaluations in Brazil. OVE bases the analysis on the types of interventions the Bank has supported in Brazil, compares the results they achieved, and draws lessons for the future design and implementation of SME support strategies and budget allocation considerations.
Assessing Firm-Support Programs in Brazil
Authors: Russell Nathaniel , Pires Jose Claudio Linhares
Published: March 2024

Increasing productivity is generally considered to be the only sustainable way of improving living standards in the long term. The Brazilian economy has had periods of strong growth, particularly until 2010, but the country has performed poorly in terms of aggregate productivity. The federal government has implemented many programs aimed at boosting firm growth and fostering competitiveness in Brazilian industries, though knowledge about their results to date is scarce. This study provides an overview of various Brazilian programs of firm support — including productive finance, business consulting, value chain, export promotion, and innovation support — as well as an assessment of the effects of a subset of these programs on productivity, employment, and real wages. Access to a unique dataset on Brazilian firms and beneficiaries allowed the Office of Evaluation and Oversight to analyze these programs over an 11-year period, 2002 to 2012.
Estudio de caso del sistema integrado de saneamiento rural (SISAR) en el Brasil
Authors: Dos Santos Rocha Wilson
Published: March 2024

El estudio del caso evaluó tres experiencias del modelo de prestación de servicios denominado SISAR (Sistema Integrado de Saneamiento Rural), de las cuales, dos fueron en el Ceará y otra en Piauí. Este modelo fue organizado como una Federación de Asociaciones Comunitarias responsable de garantizar la manutención de los sistemas y apoyar las operaciones locales realizadas por las asociaciones afiliadas. La metodología se basó en un trabajo de campo realizado tanto en las sedes de las federaciones como en las diversas localidades. El trabajo de campo incluyó entrevistas con el equipo ejecutivo y con los dirigentes de la federación. En las localidades se visitaron las instalaciones del sistema y se entrevistaron a los obreros y a los dirigentes de las asociaciones afiliadas. Cuando fue posible, se organizaron reuniones con participación de la comunidad. La presente investigación aborda el proceso histórico del modelo y su contexto de conformación, evaluando así, la ampliación en la cobertura del atendimiento y su evolución a lo largo del tiempo. Se describe el modelo en sus aspectos organizacionales, sus objetivos y las actividades de las partes implicadas, así como sus fuentes de financiamiento (distribución de los costos y las tarifas). También se detallan las tipologías de los sistemas y las condiciones en las cuales son operados y mantenidos. Se concluye que se trata de un modelo exitoso, sustentable tanto en el aspecto financiero como en su dimensión operacional y social; hecho que queda demostrado a través de los indicadores de gestión y los resultados de las encuestas de satisfacción realizadas por las unidades. Finalmente, respecto a la ampliación del modelo, el estudio considera que es recomendable un mayor apoyo institucional, tanto a nivel federal como a nivel de los estados y municipios.
Evaluation of the Fund for Special Operations during the Eighth Replenishment (1994-2010): Part II
Authors: Raw Silvia , Sembler Jose Ignacio , Sadeghi Patricia
Published: March 2024

The objective of this evaluation is to complete the assessment of the performance of IDB's concessional lending program focusing on financial and developmental results. The evaluation found that the IDB remained the largest single source of concessional financing for the five poorest countries in the region. It was also a major source of debt relief. To ensure the sustainability of FSO, the number of beneficiary countries was reduced significantly. The levels of conditionality after 2007 (except to Haiti) also decreased. An analysis of aggregate and country level outcomes indicates substantial progress, especially in infrastructure and social development, but it has been insufficient to reduce the gap between FSO countries and the regional average significantly. While outcomes are not attributable to IDB projects, the IDB has been a development partner making an important contribution. The IDB's new self-evaluation system can be instrumental in the evaluation of FSO going forward. Thus, the indicators contained in the IDB-9 Results Framework should be disaggregated at the country level to allow the IDB to track the evolution of regional development goals in the FSO countries and FSO's operational and development effectiveness. Once the new Project Completion Report template has been validated, project-level results for FSO countries should be reported on a regular basis.
Decentralization and Bailouts in Colombia
Authors: Steiner Roberto , Rentería Carolina , Echavarría Juan José
Published: March 2024

This paper examines the decentralization process in Colombia, particularly as it relates to reforms embodied in the 1991 Constitution, and the bailouts of territorial entities that have occurred in subsequent years as a result of perverse incentive structures. The paper provides a summary of the basic features of the decentralization process in Colombia, including an analysis of revenue and expenditure assignments, the intergovernmental transfer system and recent developments in terms of territorial indebtedness. Specific case studies involve the determinants of three types of bailouts by the central government to territorial entities: the provision of soft loans to be used by departments to restructure their finances, the bailout of territorial entitities' education expenditures, and the Medellin Metro. The paper concludes with lessons learned and policy recommendations.
Ties That Bind: Employment Protection and Labor Market Outcomes in Latin America
Authors: Pagés Carmen , Márquez Gustavo
Published: March 2024

This paper reviews the regulations governing hiring, firing, overtime work, social security contributions, minimum wages, and collective bargaining in the region, examining their impact on labor market outcomes.
No Education, No Good Jobs?: Evidence on the Relationship Between Education and Labor Market Segmentation
Authors: Stampini Marco , Pagés Carmen
Published: March 2024

This paper assesses labor market segmentation across formal and informal salaried jobs and self-employment in three Latin American and three transition countries. It looks separately at the markets for skilled and unskilled labor, inquiring if segmentation is an exclusive feature of the latter. Longitudinal data are used to assess wage differentials and mobility patterns across jobs. To study mobility, the paper compares observed transitions with a new benchmark measure of mobility under the assumption of no segmentation. It finds evidence of a formal wage premium relative to informal salaried jobs in the three Latin American countries, but not in transition economies. It also finds evidence of extensive mobility across these two types of jobs in all countries, particularly from informal salaried to formal jobs. These patterns are suggestive of a preference for formal over informal salaried jobs in all countries. In contrast, there is little mobility between self-employment and formal salaried jobs, suggesting the existence of barriers to this type of mobility or a strong assortative matching according to workers individual preferences. Lastly, for both wage differentials and mobility, there is no statistical difference across skill levels, indicating that the markets for skilled and unskilled labor are similarly affected by segmentation.
Financial Dependence, Formal Credit and Informal Jobs: New Evidence from Brazilian Household Data
Authors: Catão Luis , Rosales María Fernanda , Pagés Carmen
Published: March 2024

This paper examines a much overlooked link between credit markets and formalization: since access to bank credit typically requires compliance with tax and employment legislation, firms are more likely to incur such formalization costs once bank credit is more widely available at lower cost. The relevance of this credit channel is gauged using the Rajan-Zingales measure of financial dependence and a difference-in-differences approach applied to household survey data from Brazil. It is found that formalization rates increase with financial deepening, especially in sectors where firms are typically more dependent on external finance. Also found is that, decomposing shifts in formalization rates into those within each firm size category and those between firm sizes, financial deepening significantly explains the former but not so much the latter. Some key policy implications are derived.
Latin American Labor Markets in the 1990s: Deciphering the Decade
Authors: Jaramillo Olga Lucia , Pagés Carmen , Duryea Suzanne
Published: March 2024

This paper analyzes the recent performance of Latin American labor markets. We find that unemployment rates are on the rise in most countries and sub-regions of Latin America. The rise in unemployment over the 1990s is not driven by a higher proportion of women, adults or urban workers in the labor force, nor can it be attributed to an increasing demand for skilled workers. In a few countries, increasing unemployment is caused by falling employment rates. In the rest, unemployment rates can be explained by a large rise in participation that has not been fully absorbed by increases in employment. We also find that a large and in many countries growing proportion of workers are employed at jobs that pay very low wages. Finally, returns to higher education are increasing while returns to secondary education are declining in almost all countries.
The Political Economy of Productivity in Argentina: Interpretation and Illustration
Authors: Saiegh Sebastián , Moskovits Cynthia , Cristini Marcela , Urbiztondo Santiago
Published: March 2024

This paper examines how the main characteristics of Argentinas policymaking process (PMP) affect the productivity of its economy using the conceptual framework presented in Murillo, Scartascini and Tommasi (2008), Stein et al. (2008), Spiller and Tommasi (2007), and IDB (2005). First, the paper complements existing descriptions of the PMP by considering private agents and elaborating on structural characteristics possibly conducive to policymaking instability. Second, the paper illustrates the (negative) impact of Argentinas low-quality and myopic PMP equilibrium on productivity by examining two key areas: provision of infrastructure services and agricultural policy. Finally, the paper explores the PMP at the local level of government (municipalities and local communities), finding that it mimics the flaws observed at the federal level.
New Century, Old Disparities: Gender and Ethnic Wage Gaps in Latin America
Authors: Atal Juan Pablo , Winder Natalia , Ñopo Hugo R.
Published: March 2024

This paper surveys gender and ethnic wage gaps in 18 Latin American countries, decomposing differences using matching comparisons as a non-parametric alternative to the Blinder-Oaxaca (BO) decomposition. It is found that men earn 9-27 percent more than women, with high cross-country heterogeneity. The unexplained pay gap is higher among older, informal and self-employed workers and those in small firms. Ethnic wage differences are greater than gender differences, and educational attainment differentials play an important role in explaining the gap. Higher ethnic wage gaps are found among males, singleincome generators of households and full-time workers, and in rural areas. An important share of the ethnic wage gap is due to the scarcity of minorities in highpaid positions.
Investment in Education: Do Economic Volatility and Credit Constraints Matter?
Authors: Wachtenheim Erik , Spilimbergo Antonio , Flug Karnit
Published: March 2024

The focus of this paper is the link between income volatility and the accumulation of human capital in the presence of credit constraints. Also, the effect of income inequality on the accumulation of human capital within the same framework is studied.
Latin American Unions and the Reform of Social Service Delivery Systems: Institutional Constraints and Policy Choice
Authors: Murillo Maria Victoria
Published: March 2024

Recent policy debates on the reform of social service delivery systems focus on the decentralization of services and the introduction of competition in order to improve the quality of services. Despite the common assumption that public sector unions oppose these reforms, their responses were diverse. This paper argues that the structure of union organization and the environment of party and union competition are fundamental for understanding union policy preferences and strategic choices regarding the reforms of social service delivery systems. Mexico and Argentina education and health reforms in the early 1990s are used to illustrate the influence of these institutional features on the policy preferences and strategic choices of public sector unions.
Labor Markets in Latin America: A Supply-Side Story
Authors: Székely Miguel , Duryea Suzanne
Published: March 2024

This paper shows that the factors affecting labor supply have been key determinants of the changes in employment, unemployment, and income differentials in Latin America in the 1990s. The two main forces driving labor supply in the region have been demographics and education.
What's Wrong with International Financial Markets?
Authors: Hausmann Ricardo , Fernández-Arias Eduardo
Published: March 2024

Recent financial crises and contagion call into question the wisdom of capital account liberalization. There is consensus that something is terribly wrong in the way international financial markets work for developing countries and that fixing is urgent. But what is wrong? Most views in developed countries identify the problems with too much capital flows, attracted by moral hazard. However, our analysis shows that the role of this distortion is being grossly exaggerated and that, in contrast, the main distortions in international financial markets are associated with capital flows being too little, restricted by sovereign risk, and too volatile because of market failures.
Household Responses to Adverse Income Shocks in Latin America
Authors: Gaviria Alejandro
Published: March 2024

This paper uses a new data set to study household responses to adverse income shocks in seven Latin American countries. The results show (i) that households respond to income shocks mainly by increasing their labor force participation, selling assets, and cutting back on human capital investments, (ii) that poor households are the most likely to be affected by adverse income shocks, and (iii) that lower-middle-class households are more likely to cut back on human capital investments and move abroad when faced with an adverse income shock. Taken together, these results offer ample justification for publicly funded safety nets that target the poor.
Does Financial Liberalization Improve the Allocation of Investment?: Micro Evidence from Developing Countries
Authors: Schiantarelli Fabio , Weiss Andrew , Galindo Arturo
Published: March 2024

In this paper, It has been addressed this question using firm-level panel data from 12 developing countries. It was also developed a summary index of the efficiency of investment allocation that measures whether, and to what extent, investment funds are going to firms with a higher marginal return to capital. Then it was examined the relationship between this index and various measures of financial liberalization. The results suggested that in the majority of cases financial reform has led to an increase in the efficiency with which investment funds are allocated.