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By ROGER HAMILTON
The Bank’s website (www.iadb.org) contains thousands of pages of reports, statistics, studies and other information not
available anywhere else. Here are some noteworthy recent additions.
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Hard-won improvements in the quality of primary education in many Latin American countries have led to an increased
demand for secondary schooling. In Secondary Education in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Challenge of Growth and
Reform IDB education experts Claudio de Moura Castro and Laurence Wolff explore the need for increased focus on
learning and measuring achievement; more effective instruction; management reform; and other issues affecting the prospects of
Latin American high schoolers. E-mail sds/edu@iadb.org to request a copy.
- Everybody knows that the El Niño weather phenomenon is to be feared. But we are only beginning to understand
the full spectrum of its effects. In Economic and Social Effects of El Niño in Ecuador, 1997–1998 IDB specialists
Margarita Velasco and Edgar de Labastida offer a sobering assessment. E-mail alexanderk@iadb.org to obtain a copy.
- Why do some societies prefer to save while others would rather spend? The low savings rate in most Latin American
countries is considered a serious constraint to economic development. A multicountry study undertaken by the IDB’s Research
Network in 1997 examined the determinants of domestic savings rates in Chile, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela, along with
the link between trade liberalization and private savings in Spain. These studies are now available online at www.iadb.org/oce.
- Just how autonomous should public institutions be? When it comes to central banks and regulatory agencies in sectors
such as telecommunications and energy, that question is never quite settled. In another regional study, the IDB’s Research
Network examined the degree of administrative autonomy of government institutions in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela
and Peru, and its consequences for development. See the website above for details.
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