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Innovative Financial Tools for Neighborhood Upgrading
Get PDFIn Latin America and the Caribbean, over 120 million people live in informal neighborhoods. The investment needed to address the housing deficit is around USD 1.4 trillion. This represents about 20% of the entire region\u27s GDP, significantly exceeding the capacity for public investment. This is, public budgets, even with multilateral support, will always fall short of addressing the scale of demand. Therefore, this Discovery Paper looks at innovative financial instruments and solutions, such as thematic bonds, use of catalytic capital, blended finance mechanisms, and outcomes-based payment schemes, that can scale-up housing and urban development solutions and improve program performance by increasing private capital engagement. We present 14 cases that have overcome some of the typical barriers to private sector involvement in the sector and show potential for replication. Then, we outline a series of key messages and recommendations for public sector representatives, multilateral and cooperation agencies, private investors, developers, entrepreneurs, professionals, and other experts committed to innovating at scale in response to one of the most pressing challenges of our time
Research Insights: Can Private Firms in Brazil Meet Universal Water and Sewer Connection Targets?
Get PDFInfrastructure expansion alone cannot achieve Brazils 2020 New Sanitation Regulatory Framework universal water and sewer connections targets, as a substantial share of the population chooses to remain unconnected to sewerage even when the infrastructure is available. Policy incentives are crucial: combining connection subsidies with higher tariffs may significantly boost both household adoption and firm expansion. Self-sustaining policies like sewer availability charges can also increase connections but shift financial burdens onto consumers, raising affordability concerns
Fragmentation, Scale, and Management: Determinants of Public Spending Efficiency in Colombia\u27s Water and Sanitation Sector
Get PDFAchieving universal and equitable access to water and sanitation remains a critical challenge in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). This paper assesses the efficiency of public spending in providing water and sanitation services across Colombian municipalities. Efficiency levels are estimated using a stochastic frontier analysis that accounts for unobserved heterogeneity. The results show that the organizational and governance characteristics of service providers play a significant role in shaping spending efficiency. Municipalities with more service providers tend to be less efficient. In contrast, efficiency improves when providers operate across multiple jurisdictions. Additionally, municipalities where the head of the service provider is appointed--rather than elected--demonstrate greater efficiency. Overall, the findings indicate that public expenditures could be reduced by approximately 18\% without compromising service quality, highlighting the potential for substantial gains through improved provider organization and governance
Measures of hospital efficiency and quality
Get PDFHospitals are a critical component of health systems. This technical note proposes a policy-oriented framework for measuring hospital performance and provides a short list of indicators related to the efficiency and quality of hospital care in Latin America and the Caribbean. The note draws on international and country-specific experiences, including those of Brazil, Mexico, the OECD, the United Kingdoms National Health Service, and the United Statess Medicare program. The proposed indicators are feasible and relevant, and the list can be used immediately to inform hospital performance measurement efforts in the regio
Assessing the Role of Tax-benefit Systems in Reducing the Gender Income Gap in Latin America
Get PDFThis paper aims to assess the extent to which cash transfers, direct taxes, and social contributions help to reduce gender income inequalities in seven Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay. We apply microsimulation techniques to household survey data and allocate incomes within the household, assuming that each person retains the income they receive (e.g., earnings, benefits targeting mothers) and pays taxes and social insurance contributions on an individual basis according to each countrys rules. Then, we compare gender income ratios based on market (before taxes and benefits) and disposable (after taxes and benefits) income. Our results show that, at the bottom of the distribution, tax-benefit systems significantly reduce gender income disparities in most countries due to the effect of social assistance benefits received by mothers in poor households. Additionally, we find that women have substantially higher poverty rates than men based on individual disposable income. Gender differences in poverty fade away when income is pooled at the couple level and, even more so, at the household level
Transparency and Integrity Principles in Infrastructure (TIPs)
Get PDFThe Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has identified the need to develop a set of transparency and integrity principles (TIPs) understood as a series of recommended guidelines or best practices for the infrastructure sector, building on the existing international initiatives in this field. The TIPs apply to the entire infrastructure cycle, including identification, preparation, execution, and management, and will include the different public and private actors, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders that interact in the process. The purpose of these principles is to address integrity risks throughout the infrastructure project cycle, providing institutional, legal, and financial standards for governments; public, private, and multilateral banks; and other relevant stakeholders
Do Entrepreneurship Policies Drive Job Creation?: A Look at the Evidence
Get PDFIn Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), 51% of working-age adults live in working poverty and are affected by widespread informality and low productivity. Active labor market policies are essential to address these problems, but few countries in the region have taken advantage of the full range of such programs. Furthermore, there is disagreement on best practices and how effective they can be in different contexts. This paper sheds light on this issue by exploring the various ways that entrepreneurship policies have been implemented around the world. Entrepreneurship policies seek to reduce barriers for self-employed individuals and entrepreneurs and increase their productivity. In this paper, we analyze these policies by reviewing 38 research articles covering interventions with traditional and non-traditional training, financial support, technical assistance, and advisory services (also referred to as consulting in some cases). Key findings indicate that “hard” interventions such as financing can be effective as standalone initiatives in developed economies. However, it takes a combination of “soft” and “hard” interventions to significantly improve employment prospects in developing economies. We also found that well-designed programs can boost inclusion for disadvantaged groups, especially when properly targeted. Our analysis reveals the importance of promoting productive entrepreneurship, which hinges on identifying individuals highly likely to succeed if not for barriers standing in their way. Another takeaway was that entrepreneurship policies should be seen as a driver of inclusion and labor mobility, not just lower unemployment. Finally, policy designers must take into account the regional, national, or local context, steering clear of one-size-fits-all solutions. Ultimately, these interventions hold promise for generating employment opportunities and livelihoods, as well as for spurring economic growth. They can valuably complement other active labor market policies, especially in less dynamic labor markets (such as small cities) and for disadvantaged groups. When thoughtfully designed and targeted, such policies can help reshape the regions employment landscape through gains in inclusion, labor mobility, and regional development
Facilitating International Trade for MSMEs
Get PDFThis study provides policymakers with a toolkit of best practices and measures to facilitate the participation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in international trade. To this end, it presents the main findings of a review of the specialized literature on trade facilitation policies for MSMEs as well as a mapping of indicators that illustrate the degree of progress made by Latin American and Caribbean countries in implementing such policies. In addition, the study compiles and systematizes the main features of the identified policy toolkit and a checklist of trade facilitation policies for MSMEs that policymakers can use. The objective of the study is to contribute to the Americas Business Dialogue\u27s goal of fostering private sector-led growth and development in the region. To this end, it seeks to provide policymakers with tools to foster inclusive growth of MSMEs and help them improve their competitiveness, access new markets, and insert themselves into regional and global value chains
OVE Annual Report 2024
No full textThe Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE) is an independent office of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group), reporting directly to the Boards of Executive Directors of the IDB and IDB Invest (the Boards). It has the mandate to undertake (i) independent and systematic evaluations and oversight studies of IDB Group performance; (ii) evaluation capacity development (ECD) activities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries; and (iii) cooperation with other evaluation offices. OVE reports its findings and recommendations to the Boards, supporting the Boards institutional oversight and promoting a culture of results and learning. Every year, OVE presents to the Boards an Annual Report that summarizes completed activities, provides the status of execution of the assigned budget, and includes a brief preview of future work. OVE\u27s Annual Reports complement OVE\u27s yearly Work Program Reports, which are presented to the Boards the quarter before the Annual Reports and include brief summaries of the closing years work, the work programs and budgets for the following year, and indicative plans for the year after. This Annual Report presents (i) a summary of OVE\u27s discussions with the Boards to define OVE\u27s priorities and 2024 work program following the arrival of the new OVE director in May 2024; (ii) an overview of OVEs 2024 deliveries, including key insights from evaluations and an update on ECD activities; (iii) an overview of the 2024 budget execution; and (iv) a brief description of the 2025 work plan
How Employment Framing Affects Trade Preferences: Evidence from Survey Experiments
Get PDFInternational trade increases aggregate welfare but also creates winners and losers, which makes free trade a contentious political issue. Recent research has established that individuals are more sensitive to anti-trade information about the prospect of employment loss than to pro-trade information regarding lower product prices and increased variety. This means that we know what works to decrease support for trade, but it is still unclear what works to increase it. In this paper, we fill this gap by studying how individual attitudes and beliefs change in response to information regarding employment losses (in import-competing sectors), to information regarding employment gains (in export-oriented sectors), and to information regarding the possibility of compensation to those displaced by trade. To this end, we conducted a large-scale survey experiment in 18 Latin American countries using nationally representative samples. Results indicate that anti-trade information reduces support for trade even if compensation to losers is mentioned and that pro-trade messages increase support only if they are worded so that a job gain is perceived. Belief updating about the consequences of increased trade on employment seems to be a relevant mechanism. Our findings have important implications on what types of messaging work to increase support for trade