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Impact of Monetary Incentives on Teacher Decisions to Leave and Choose Schools: Evidence from a Policy Reform in São Paulo
Get PDFTeacher turnover is a major challenge for human resource management in schools, adversely affecting student learning. We examine the impact of a monetary incentive program introduced in 2022 in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, which aims to reduce teacher turnover by allocating wage premiums ranging from 5% to 25% of base salary based on schools turnover levels. Our results show a significant reduction in turnover: an average decrease of 18% across all schools, with an even more pronounced 30% reduction in schools offering higher incentives. Notably, the program also attracted new teachers to these higher-incentive schools. An analysis of teacher preferences similarly reveals a shift towards schools offering greater wage premiums. Furthermore, we find that schools offering high incentives experienced significant improvements in student test scores, with gains of 0.3-0.6 standard deviations in standardized assessments. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of monetary incentives in mitigating teacher turnover and improving educational outcomes, providing evidence-based guidance for policymakers developing teacher retention strategies
Transparency and Government Reputation: An Experiment on Signaling
Get PDFTransparency initiatives are well-known tools to foster trust and empower citizens. To explain why some governments introduce them but others do not, we model these initiatives as a signal that complements the information provided by visible government performance and conduct a randomized survey experiment in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the incumbent mayor made a set of post-electoral promises. In a setting with relatively high trust priors, our results show that these initiatives matter in shaping citizens\u27 perceptions of the reputation of the government. We find, however, strong heterogeneity among three groups of citizens. A group unfamiliar with the policy was impervious to treatment: they seem to react to deeds, not words, and have, on average, lower initial trust. The treatment effects are entirely through those vaguely familiar with the promises, closing the average gap in trust with those familiar with the promises. More generally, our study suggests that transparency initiatives may be an effective signal, though their informational value may be more limited than visible public performance
Driving Development in Central America, Mexico, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti
Get PDFIn a context of significant challenges in Central America, Mexico, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Haiticharacterized by multiple social demands and limited fiscal spaceit is essential to ensure that every dollar invested generates tangible, positive impacts on communities. This report highlights key results recently achieved by the IDB in the region. The first section provides an overview of the main aggregated outcomes at the regional level across the seven operational focus areas of the IDBs new Institutional Strategy. The second section presents notable progress and achievements in each of the 10 countries during 2024, with a dedicated focus on one key area per country. This report seeks to promote a culture of impact and reinforce the IDBs role as a catalyst for positive change
International versus Domestic Shocks and Pass-Through to Country Prices: A Heterogeneous VAR Approach
Get PDFThis study investigates the disconnect between falling agricultural commodity prices and persistent food inflation by applying a Heterogeneous Vector Autoregression (VAR) model to a panel of 203 countries using data from 1961 to 2022. It analyzes the impact of global crops, fertilizer, and oil prices on domestic inflation and explores the asymmetries in the pass-through of global shocks. Results show that fertilizer price shocks significantly influence crop prices, especially maize and soybeans, while production shocks have a weaker effect. Demand-driven price changes exhibit higher pass-through to food inflation compared to supply-driven shocks, with country-specific characteristics shaping these responses. A historical decomposition reveals that global factors played a larger role in inflation during 2021, particularly for emerging economies, while advanced economies were more affected by domestic shocks. These findings highlight the importance of tailored policies to mitigate inflation in the face of global commodity price volatility
How Do Disruptive Innovators Prepare Todays Students To Be Tomorrows Workforce?: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
No full textNow more than ever, the overall health and well-being of students and educators alike become a global priority for health-care professionals, educators, and families. Socialemotional learning (SEL) competencies are critical for success in college, career, and life. To truly transform our schools and create more equitable outcomes for all students and more satisfying experiences for adults, schools should consider a systemic approach to SEL. This brief introduces the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and its work on systemic SEL. The systemic SEL approach emphasizes relationship-rich learning environments where instructional practices, resources, policies, and communication are aligned and coordinated to promote socioemotional competence for all. CASEL, a field leader in SEL for 30 years, has a mission to help make evidence-based SEL an integral part of education from preschool through high school. CASEL envisions all children and adults as self-aware, caring, responsible, engaged, and lifelong learners who work together to achieve their goals and create a more inclusive, just, and equitable world
Competition in the Colombian Banking Sector
Get PDFIn this paper, we analyze the competition in the Colombian banking sector using bank-level monthly balance sheet information. We estimate the changes in measures of market power due to the exogenous introduction of a liquidity regulation. Our results suggest that introducing a net stable funding ratio increased the Lerner index in the short term, thus signaling a higher exercise of market power. We rationalize these changes in a simple theoretical model that allows us to analyze the tightening of liquidity requirements for banks. Our empirical results are consistent with banks with higher market power in the loan market than in the deposit market
Comparative Analysis of Project Development Effectiveness Management Tools for Sovereign Guaranteed Operations of the AfDB, ADB, IDB, IFAD, and WB
Get PDFThis report from the Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) compares the project development effectiveness management instruments for sovereign guaranteed operations of the IDB with those of four peer institutions: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Bank (WB). The report is structured into five chapters. After the introduction, it reviews the instruments used at the project level, then examines how project results are monitored at the corporate level. It goes on to describe the institutional governance of development effectiveness before concluding with key findings from the comparative analysis. Based on document reviews and interviews, the report highlights differences in instruments used for project design and evaluability assessments, the dimensions covered by project monitoring tools, the criteria and methods to classify project performance during implementation, the level of authority for project restructuring, the application of criteria to assess project performance at completion, and how institutions monitor performance at the corporate level. This comparative analysis part of OVEs 2025 Development Effectiveness evaluation line aims to inform efforts to enhance the IDBs approach to development effectiveness
Temporary teachers in Latin America and the Caribbean
Get PDFThis study delves into the growing trend of hiring temporary teachers in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), driven by the need for education systems to find more cost-effective and flexible solutions in the face of budget constraints and increasing educational demand. However, it warns that this practice may negatively affect the quality and equity of education, as temporary teachers often have lower qualifications, face precarious working conditions, and experience high turnover rates. The analysis focuses on eight countries in the region: Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Guyana, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Argentina. It examines the characteristics, working conditions, distribution, and trends of these professionals, aiming to understand their impact on regional education. The study reveals a significant increase in temporary hiring, with a higher prevalence in rural areas and indigenous schools. Key actions are proposed to mitigate the risks to educational quality and equity, including ensuring transparency in recruitment processes, expanding access to professional development, improving working conditions, and monitoring teacher performance
Employment dynamics during COVID-19 in Uruguay
Get PDFThis paper provides novel insights into labor market dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent recovery period in Uruguay. Using social security administrative records, we focus on the gender-differentiated patterns of labor market transitions following the pandemic outbreak, compared to a previous period. Furthermore, we evaluate the role of unemployment insurance (UI) as an instrument for employment protection during the pandemic-induced recession. The analysis reveals that womenparticularly those with children and earning low wagesexperienced greater employment and wage losses compared to men at the pandemics onset, though they showed signs of recovery in later periods. Moreover, women were more likely to transition from UI to formal employment during the pandemic, diverging from previous trends, largely due to the suspension modality (similar to a temporary lay-off) of the Uruguayan UI program. Through a regression discontinuity (RD) approach, the study identifies positive local effects of the beneficiaries of the UI suspension program on the probability of being employed and earning higher wages for both men and women, eight and twelve months after entering the program. These findings carry significant policy implications, underlying the importance of maintaining and potentially expanding UI programs with temporary suspension schemes, and the necessity of adapting social protection systems to respond quickly to crises. Our results underscore the potential of temporary layoff unemployment insurance schemes in developing countries as effective tools to address unexpected crises or shocks like COVID-19, preserving employment relationships and facilitating faster economic recovery
Competition Law and Regulations: Productivity Impacts in Latin American Manufacturing Firms
Get PDFThis paper investigates the effects of competition laws and regulations on manufacturing firms productivity in Latin American countries (LACs), addressing a gap in existing research. Leveraging firm-level panel data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys across 14 LAC economies and competition law indicators from the Comparative Competition Law initiative, the study employs total factor productivity (TFP) measures to analyze the effects of competition laws on manufacturing productivity through key mediators: firm size, distance to the frontier, and broader institutional arrangements. Utilizing various empirical methodologies that address potential biases, the findings reveal a nuanced relationship between competition law stringency, enforcement practices, and productivity outcomes across different industries and countries. Results reveal heterogeneous effects of competition law and enforcement on productivity, with certain aspects showing a positive relationship with productivity, particularly when controlling for firm size, while stronger enforcement measures weaken the positive association between competition law and productivity, potentially due to increased compliance costs and legal uncertainty. The study suggests a need for policymakers to strike a balance between regulatory stringency and enforcement in competition to avoid stifling innovation and hindering productivity growth, particularly in industries nearing technological frontiers. Accounting for industry-specific factors are essential for fostering fair competition and market efficiency without unduly burdening businesses