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Enhancing Maternal and Infant Healthcare in Remote Villages: Experimental Evidence on the Efficacy of Demandand Supply-Side Subsidies
Get PDFThis paper investigates the effects of releasing remoteness constraints on the accessibility and quality of maternal and infant healthcare. Through a field experiment, we provided complementary demand- and supply-side subsidies to improve healthcare for impoverished pregnant women residing in remote Nicaraguan communities. The subsidies increased the utilization of antenatal care by skilled providers, the quality of care received, institutional delivery, and postnatal care utilization, along with the quality of postnatal care received by mothers. Neonatal and infant mortality and fertility decreased in treated communities five years after the intervention was started
Hospitals, Maternal and Infant Health: Impact of the Opening of Public Hospitals in Mexico
Get PDFWe examine the impact of public hospitals openings in Mexico on maternal and neonatal mortality. Using administrative data from 2001 to 2019 and taking advantage of the variation in the timing of the opening of public hospitals across Mexican municipalities, we estimate a staggered difference-in-differences (DiD) model using the Callaway and SantAnna (2021) (CS) estimator. In doing so, we compare municipalities where a public hospital started to operate to municipalities without a hospital in operation, before and after the opening. Preliminary results show that openings substantially reduced the maternal mortality rate (by 24 maternal deaths per 100,000 births, which amounts to a 40% decrease) and neonatal mortality rate (by 107 infant deaths per 100,000 births, which amounts to a 13% decrease). We provide evidence that the decrease in maternal and neonatal mortality is driven by an increase in institutional deliveries. In addition, we show heterogeneity by type of hospital and the existence of previous medical infrastructure. In particular, the effect is driven by the opening of the first hospital in a municipality, and, in the case of maternal mortality, by the opening of level II hospitals. This research closes a gap in our understanding of the health effects of expanding health care infrastructure in the developing world and suggests policy priorities for scarce public spending on maternal and infant health care
Infrastructure Services and Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Water, Sanitation, and Garbage Collection
Get PDFAccess to essential infrastructure services such as water, sanitation, and garbage collection can considerably affect children\u27s environment and may play a significant role in shaping early childhood developmental and health outcomes. Using data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), we show a significant positive association between access to water and sanitation and early childhood development, as well as reduced instances of stunting. In addition, we identify a negative association between access to improved garbage collection services and the rates of stunting and underweight among children under five. Our findings are robust after using alternative measures for access and controlling for individual, maternal, and household factors, alongside considerations of household wealth and caregiver\u27s stimulation activities. Similarly, the economic relevance of the relationship is highlighted by the substantial gap relative to the size of the vulnerable groups, persisting even after adjusting for confounding variables. Our results also suggest that households may be able to lessen the potential impact of pollutants through mitigation measures such as treating water to make it safe for consumption, using handwashing cleansers, and storing household trash in lidded containers. The current findings underscore the importance of investing in basic infrastructure services as a critical component of comprehensive strategies to enhance early childhood development and health in low- and middle-income countries. We emphasize the importance of considering the quality and type of infrastructure services alongside their availability. Future research should incorporate more complete and detailed data to improve understanding of the causal relationship between water, sanitation, and garbage collection and early childhood development, as well as the mechanisms underlying the observed associations
Research Insights: How Does Internal Migration Shape Urban Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean?
Get PDFWhile international migration in Latin America and the Caribbean surged over 80% between 2015 and 2020, internal migration remains the key driver of urban growth. Internal migrants choose a variety of urban areas, not only major cities. The share of internal migrants in the local population is relatively even across cities of varying sizes. Because institutional capacity to implement effective policies in response to migrant inflows varies across cities, some local governments may require additional support from other levels of government to seize the opportunities and address the challenges of urban migration
Research Insights: Does Citizen Participation in Budget Allocation Increase Trust in Government?
Get PDFProviding detailed information about citizen involvement and budget allocation has a positive effect on citizen opinion regarding the actions of local government and on trust in politicians. Citizen participation in and dissemination of such programs can improve budget allocation both directly and through their impact on trust. Since participation in these programs is low and self-selection may occur, their impact may be limited without informational campaigns
Skills for Life Series: Problem-Solving
Get PDFProblem-solving skills help individuals cope with problem by analyzing it, and proposing viable solutions based upon available information. They are crucial for learning, societal participation, and personal activities, as well as for employment success. They decrease depression and aggression while improving academic performance and prosocial behaviors. Developing problem-solving skills can start at a young age through methods like problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, and project work. In this brief we tell you more about its relevance, as well as successful initiatives to foster these skills and the existing tools to measure them
URSA: A tool to Guide Urban Planning Using Satellite Data
No full textThis learning material introduces URSA (Urban Reporting based on Satellite Analysis), an open-source tool designed to help urban planners diagnose their cities and predict future trends. It allows easy access to the enormous amount of information captured by satellite sensors, taking care of collecting, processing and presenting key information on the evolution of cities in Latin America and the Caribbean. The main functions of URSA are explained in the context of addressing the problems of urban sprawl and urban heat islands, explaining the underlying algorithms and providing step-by-step user guides. The results are displayed through detailed maps produced with the tool
The Consequences of Non-Tariff Trade Barriers: Theory and Evidence from Import Licenses in Argentina. Preliminary Results
Get PDFAs WTO regulations rendered tariffs less viable, the trade policy landscape experienced a significant transformation: Non-tariff barriers have proliferated, becoming a central instrument of countries trade policy. How do Non-Tariff Import Barriers affect downstream firms? What role do firm market power and market concentration play in shaping the effects of these barriers? This paper investigates the effects of import licenses (NAILs) in Argentina from 2005 to 2011. We construct a novel database with yearly data on products that require import licenses to analyze the causal effects of NAILs on firms imports, exports, and employment. Our empirical strategy leverages the staggered introduction of NAILs as a unique opportunity for causal identification. We find that NAILs significantly reduce firm imports, leading firms reliant on these imported inputs to decrease exports and employment. In a trade model with oligopolistic competition in export markets, we provide conditions under which firms market power can shape the aggregate impact of NAILs. In markets where a firm is relatively large, it can respond to NAILs by adjusting its markups while maintaining relatively stable prices and output. This reduces the overall impact on consumer prices in more concentrated markets
“True to Them, True to Myself” Understanding Restrictive Masculinity in Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago
Get PDFRestrictive masculinity is a social construct that is tied to beliefs about how men behave and are expected to behave to be considered “real men”. By contrast, gender-equitable masculinities constitute a more flexible alternative that permits men to take on diverse roles and behaviors while not limiting womens agency. This publication conducted a thorough analysis of restrictive masculinities in Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago in 2022, utilizing both focus groups and online surveys. The research aimed to understand the attitudes of young men exploring seven themes related to gender and masculinities, including toughness, self-sufficiency, paid and unpaid work, money and education, hypersexuality, homophobia, power and control, and violence. To measure masculinity, the study develops a statistically validated scale composed of diverse attitude statements based on previous tools on this topic. It also explores how young mens attitudes about gender are associated with social norms and influence behavioral outcomes in areas such as sexual harassment, bullying, alcohol and drug abuse, depression and suicidal ideation. Finally, the publication offers policy recommendations and highlights best practices that can be employed to accelerate positive changes in the region
The Effects of Interest Rate Increases on Consumers’ Inflation Expectations: The Roles of Informedness and Compliance
Get PDFWe study how monetary policy communications associated with increasing the federal funds rate causally affect consumers inflation expectations in real time. In a large-scale, multi-wave randomized controlled trial (RCT), we find weak evidence that communicating these policy changes lowers consumers medium-term inflation expectations on average. However, information differs systematically across demographic groups, in terms of ex ante informedness about monetary policy and ex post compliance with the information treatment. Monetary policy communications have a much stronger effect on the subset of consumers who had not previously heard news about monetary policy and who take sufficient time to read the treatment. Our findings show that, in an inflationary environment, these consumers expect that raising interest rates will lower inflation. More generally, our results emphasize the importance of measuring both respondents information sets and their compliance with treatment when using RCTs in empirical macroeconomics to better understand the real-world implications of monetary policy communications