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Peru: Agricultural Health and Agrifood Safety Development Program. Phase III
No full textThis infographic presents the impact evaluation of the long-term sustainability of the fruit fly eradication program in Peru\u27s coastal regions through the measurement of vegetation indices. This project aims to increase agricultural productivity, agro-exports, and food safety through an integrated pest management (IPM) program
More Than a Meal: How School Meals Can Drive Improved Nutrition and Sustainable Food Systems: Findings from Fill the Nutrient Gap Analysis in Guatemala and Peru
Get PDFThis report presents findings from Fill the Nutrient Gap (FNG) analyses conducted in Guatemala and Peru, assessing how school meal programs can improve child nutrition and diet affordability. Using the WFPs FNG methodology and Enhance software, the analysis models the impact of served meals and take-home rations on the cost and nutritional adequacy of childrens diets. Results show that served school meals can reduce the cost of a nutrient-adequate diet by over 50% and offer greater dietary diversity and micronutrient content than take-home rations. Fortification and supplementation further enhance nutritional outcomes, particularly for adolescent girls. The report underscores the role of school meals as cost-effective, high-impact interventions that support children\u27s health and development across diverse contexts
Executive Summary: The Performance of Artificial Intelligence in the Use of Indigenous American Languages
Get PDFThis publication analyzes the performance of artificial intelligence (AI) models when interacting in Indigenous American languages. The study evaluates seven representative languages from Latin America using five different language models, identifying a significant performance gap compared to major languages such as Spanish or Catalan. Through methodologies like the Multidimensional Quality Metrics (MQM) and the Multi-Task Language Understanding (MMLU), the report measures the linguistic, executive, and behavioral performance of the models, revealing significant limitations in comprehension, expression, and cultural adaptation. Additionally, the report examines the scarcity of digital data and linguistic tools available in Indigenous languages, which limits the training of AI models. It presents 21 strategies to promote technological inclusion, ranging from the creation of international consortia to the promotion of hackathons and data collection initiatives. The document concludes with a clear action plan to reduce the technological gap and promote the fair and responsible use of AI in multilingual contexts. * A more detailed version of this publication is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/001354
Supply Chain Networks and the Macroeconomic Expectations of Firms
Get PDFUsing a randomized control trial of approximately 1,000 firm pairs in New Zealand that have a customer-supplier relationship, we provide an information treatment to analyze both the direct effects on expectations and actions of firms receiving this information and the spillover effects on connected firms that did not directly receive information. In a follow-up three months later, we find direct and spillover effects on expectations and actions that are both significant and of comparable magnitude. An increase in expected GDP growth increases prices and employment; an increase in expected GDP uncertainty reduces prices, investment, and employment. We provide evidence that it is communication between the firms, as opposed to observable actions, driving the spillover effect on the expectations of connected firms. This is consequential as we find communication to be symmetric upstream vs downstream, while propagation via actions is asymmetric. We embed firm-to-firm communication along the supply chain in a New Keynesian pricing problem and discuss its implications for the transmission of aggregate uncertainty to firms pricing decisions and aggregate inflation
Priorities for Private Investment in the Andean Countries
Get PDFThe Andean countries are traditionally highly exposed to inter- national prices, primary exports, and foreign investment flows from developed economies. Since 2014, the global downturn has affected the regions productivity and growth. This scenario is ongoing, especially after the COVID-19 shock, and the country-specific factors have not acted as robust buffers to prevent the growth slowdown; the region needs a growth agenda. This paper explores the nine categories of the standard growth diagnostic framework in clustering results using private investment and GDP per capita over 129 countries in the past two decades. We also carry out a gap analysis and use a generalized ordered probit model to identify mean advantages, clusters dissimilarities, and investment priorities to scale up from one cluster to another in search of higher GDP per capita. We identify nine clusters. During the period 20162019, Bolivia and Venezuela were in Cluster 5, Ecuador and Peru in Cluster 6, and Colombia was in Cluster 7. The main findings by clusters suggest prioritizing infrastructure, the reduction of microrisks, andin parthuman capital and local savings. Nevertheless, heterogeneity in the impact on transition and intraclusters prevails. So, even though the priority agenda might be similar, policy making might be more demanding for some countries than others
Monetary Policy Effects on Firms’ Uncertainty
Get PDFWe study how monetary policy affects inflation uncertainty. Using a survey of Mexican firms and exploiting quasi-random variation in the response date, we estimate the effect of a monetary policy decision and surprise on firms perceived inflation uncertainty. We find that a one percentage point contractionary monetary policy reduces inflation uncertainty by 0.02 percentage points. We explore how this result is affected by levels of higher and lower aggregate uncertainty. We find that monetary policy tightening is twice as effective in reducing inflation uncertainty in periods of higher economic uncertainty, such as trade uncertainty. Our findings highlight the role of monetary policy in reducing inflation uncertainty. We discuss that in periods of uncertainty, monetary authorities face a trade-off between stimulating the economy and increasing uncertainty about the inflation outlook
Research Insights: Can Behavioral Economics Help Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy?
Get PDFA large-scale SMS-based campaign in Cali, Colombia, featuring tailored messages addressing key behavioral barriers, increased HPV vaccine uptake by 34% to 55%. Increasing confidence in the vaccine and providing reliable information are the most effective strategies to enhance HPV vaccination uptake. The intervention achieved high cost-effectiveness, generating USD 3.6 to USD 5.75 per dollar spent
Water Security Financing Report 2024
Get PDFThe ten multilateral development banks (MDBs) are committed to joint action to improve global water security by 2030. The joint MDB Water Security Financing Report 2024 is the first annual report towards monitoring this joint commitment. The 2024 report will form the baseline report for subsequent years as conditions evolve and the global focus on water security increases. This report focuses on water sector financing and actions underway to achieve joint action. Future reports will include the impact of this financing, as well as the necessary policies, institutions and regulations needed to achieve lasting water security
Irrigation Infrastructure and Vineyard Productivity: Evidence using Remote Sensing and Synthetic Difference-in-Differences in Argentina
Get PDFThis paper evaluates the long-term impact of rehabilitated irrigation canals under Argentinas PROSAP III program on vineyard productivity in San Juan province. We combine 20 years of Landsat-derived NDVI data with survey data from 299 grape producers and apply a synthetic difference-in-differences (SDID) framework to estimate causal effects. Additional robustness checks include propensity score matching and inverse probability weighting. Results indicate that canal rehabilitation increased NDVI by 0.91%, equivalent to yield gains of approximately 144 kilograms per hectare, with peak impacts of 2.5% (386 kg per ha) five years post-intervention. The study highlights the productivity benefits of irrigation investments and demonstrates the value of remote sensing for large-scale agricultural impact evaluations. Findings offer policy-relevant insights for designing and monitoring rural infrastructure programs in water-scarce regions
Non-Linear Effects of Air Pollution on Health Outcomes: Evidence from Mexico City (Discussion Paper)
Get PDFThis paper uses high-frequency data on fine particulate matter air pollution (PM 2.5) to study the effects of high pollution on health outcomes in Mexico City. We combine hourly monitoring station data on air pollution and weather conditions with a rich dataset of 10 million health episodes between 2003 and 2019, including deaths, hospitalizations, and urgent care visits. We disaggregate daily mean concentrations of PM 2.5 using the daily share of hours with PM 2.5 concentration above each WHO threshold to uncover a positive non-linear and convex relationship between hourly air pollution concentrations and same-day respiratory health outcomes of all severities. Specifically, a 1% increase in the share of hours with PM 2.5 concentrations above the highest WHO interim threshold (IT1) increases the number of respiratory deaths, hospitalizations, and urgent care visits per 1 million inhabitants by 0.001, 0.0008, and 0.024, respectively. We find that hours above IT1 have effects on respiratory health outcomes that are 20 to 30 times greater than those of hours above the Air Quality Guideline, the lowest WHO threshold. Furthermore, 1 additional hour a day with PM 2.5 above IT1 has the same effects on respiratory health outcomes as increasing the daily average concentration of PM 2.5 in Mexico City by 41 g/m3. We find that the effects of PM 2.5 on respiratory mortality and morbidity are distributed differently across the age distribution and that the effect of PM 2.5 on respiratory deaths is driven by individuals with lower educational attainment