Inter-American Development Bank

This 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.

Studies consistently show that minoritized students benefit from having a teacher of the same race/ethnicity. We extend this literature by examining educational impacts of exposure to same-race/ethnicity professional staff, including administrators, instructional coaches, guidance counselors, and special education specialists. Students interact with these staff less frequently than teachers, yet staff of color may also serve as role models, support culturally relevant practices, and help prevent discrimination. Using within-student and within-school variation in statewide Maryland data, we find that higher shares of same-ethnicity staff improve test scores and modestly reduce suspensions for Hispanic students. For Black students, exposure to non-Black, non-White professionals of color is associated with higher English language arts performance, although these effects are smaller—about one-fifth the size of teacher effects.

In developing countries, informal labor is not only employed by illegal or unregistered firms but also by legal firms that hire workers informally, known as the intensive margin of labor informality. Reducing this type of work may have ambiguous effects on formal employment, depending on factors such as firm size and productivity. In collaboration with Peru’s labor inspection authority, we conducted a randomized mailing experiment targeting large firms with a high propensity for employing workers informally. The authority sent letters with either deterrence messages detailing fines for non-compliance or social norms messages highlighting the positive impacts of formality. We analyzed the impact of this intervention on formal employment levels over the following two years using monthly administrative data. The treated firms (particularly those in the deterrence treatment arm) and larger firms increased their formal employment levels. However, these increases followed a seasonal pattern coinciding with the high labor demand during the tourist season, suggesting that prior to the intervention, firms were employing temporary workers informally. The higher perceived cost of non-compliance led them to formalize some of these workers. The informal hiring of seasonal workers by these firms appears to have been motivated by basic tax evasion, and the absence of a negative effect on firm-level formal employment indicates that the firms were exploiting rents from low enforcement of regulations. • RCT letters to large Peruvian firms raised seasonal formalization. • Effects concentrate in large firms; minimal extensive-margin response. • Event-study with firm & month FE: peak gains, flat pre-trends. • Cost–benefit: social-security revenue far exceeds mailing cost (BCR 50–78). • Mailing serves identification; audits/policy needed for sustained compliance.

In an era of heightened global competition in science and technology and geopolitical tensions, United States leadership in science has been diminishing. The 2025 Nature Index found that in elite science journals, China accounted for 56% of the publications in 2024, whereas the US contributed only 10%. This is in stark contrast to 5 years earlier when the US still topped the ranking-but China's surge was becoming apparent. The rapid change indicates that a remodeling of the US science ecosystem is warranted, including the creation of new paths to earning PhDs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, if the United States is to cultivate a much needed, highly skilled scientific workforce.

A igualdade de gênero é fundamental para o desenvolvimento socioeconômico global, embora desafios persistentes evidenciem disparidades significativas, especialmente no contexto brasileiro. Apesar dos avanços observados, como o aumento da representação ministerial, as mulheres continuam a enfrentar sub-representação em várias esferas, incluindo a participação restrita na submissão de pleitos para obtenção de financiamento externo para projetos relevantes. Esta limitação compromete não apenas a representatividade feminina em decisões estratégicas, mas também a eficácia na implementação de políticas públicas equitativas e inclusivas. Nesse sentido, com o intuito de compreender melhor esse desafio e de elevar a participação de mulheres em uma área estratégica do setor público, foi desenvolvido um projeto piloto de capacitação para governadoras, prefeitas e secretárias de entes subnacionais em financiamento externo para projetos com perspectiva de gênero. Esse estudo oferece um relato acerca do curso de capacitação promovido, explorando as percepções das gestoras acerca dos desafios específicos enfrentados e objetivando prover subsídios para o desenvolvimento de políticas públicas destinadas a promover a igualdade de gênero e a facilitar a participação equitativa das mulheres nos processos decisórios concernentes aos financiamentos externos.

In this paper we assess the extent to which patient and physician preferences determine birth timing manipulation in public and private hospitals, among white and black mothers, using data from approximately 37million births in Brazil. Our findings show that manipulation is markedly salient in the private sector and among white women. While the timing of births in the public sector is also influenced by specific incentives, their impact is less pronounced and more evenly distributed across racial groups. The analysis provides a comprehensive and integrated assessment of how treatment decisions respond to different individual incentives, for different population groups, and within distinct institutional settings, thus allowing for comparison of magnitude of estimates across health systems and populations.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the way governments design and implement public policies, creating new opportunities to enhance prevention and response to violence against women across Latin America and the Caribbean. This policy brief provides an exploratory mapping of current AI applications in public-sector initiatives, identifying emerging uses, evidence gaps, and ethical challenges. With one in three women experiencing physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner, the region faces a dual imperative: to harness the innovative potential of technology while safeguarding human rights. The brief underscores the importance of strengthening data governance frameworks, promoting ethical audits, and conducting rigorous evaluations to ensure responsible and equitable implementation.