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on Central and South America |
| By: | Vilgis, Veronika; Jordán, Valeria; Patiño, Alejandro |
| Abstract: | The adoption of digital technologies is a crucial tool for bridging the productivity gaps between countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and more developed nations, generating new sources of growth, and creating high-quality jobs. Evidence-based policies are needed to harness the potential of these technologies, guide technological change, seize opportunities and mitigate risks. This publication presents an exploratory study conducted in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, in which various sources of information are combined, including web data and official statistics, to measure the online activity of businesses. This methodology allows companies to be classified based on their Internet use, going beyond traditional industrial classifications and giving rise to a new classification. Moreover, the study explores the possibilities offered by big data techniques and tools for enhancing our understanding of the digital transformation and serves as a foundation for future research in this field. |
| Date: | 2024–06–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecr:col022:80415 |
| By: | López Bóo, Florencia (Inter-American Development Bank); de la Paz Ferro, Maria (Inter-American Development Bank); Carneiro, Pedro (University College London) |
| Abstract: | Delivering early childhood programs at scale is a major policy challenge. One way to do so is by using existing public infrastructure. This paper experimentally assesses the short-term impacts of a new government home visiting program integrated into health care services. The program changed the allocation of time for community health workers, asking them to carry out early childhood development-related tasks. We find that access to the program has a positive but modest impact on home environment quality and no impact on child development nor on children's health status. Our results point to the importance of workload, supervision and buy-in from delivery actors to enhance fidelity of interventions. |
| Keywords: | early childhood, parenting |
| JEL: | J10 I10 |
| Date: | 2024–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17130 |
| By: | Ham Gonzalez, Andres (Universidad de los Andes); Ruiz, Juanita (Inter-American Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effects of drug-related violence on individual labor market outcomes in a transit country. Transit countries do not have enough market power to determine the global supply or demand of drugs yet must deal with the consequences from drug trafficking activities. We implement a Bartik-type instrumental variables strategy which assumes that violence in Honduran municipalities located along drug transport routes changes when coca production in Colombia grows or contracts. Our results show that drug-related violence has negative effects on extensive and intensive margin labor market outcomes for transit country workers and has greater effects on women than men. |
| Keywords: | drug markets, violence, labor market outcomes, gender inequality, instrumental variables |
| JEL: | C26 O17 J01 J16 J40 |
| Date: | 2024–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17126 |
| By: | Bloomfield, Juanita; Cabrera, José María |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the long-term effects of receiving the Uruguayan Plan de Atención Nacional a la Emergencia Social (PANES), a large unconditional cash transfer program, on outcomes for young and unborn children. We use a rich dataset that matches program administrative data to vital natality data and educational records 8 to 12 years after the beginning of the program. Overall, we find small and barely significant effects on educational attainment and delay. Among children exposed to the program during early childhood (between ages zero to five), the results show significant beneficial effects for those with low birth weight. |
| Keywords: | unconditional cash transfer, long-term effects, education, policy evaluation. |
| JEL: | I38 O15 |
| Date: | 2024–07–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:121469 |