This paper examines the evolution of drug use in Colombia over the past years. Our analysis, based on surveys from the Dirección Nacional de Estupefacientes, shows that drug consumption grew substantially between 1996 and 2013. The growth occurred for both genders, all ages, socioeconomic...

Through a randomized control trial this paper estimates the impact that a radio broadcasted financial education program has on the knowledge and behavior of its listeners. Viva Seguro, the program evaluated, is specialized on topics related with the risks individuals face and how to correctly...

Spanish Abstract: El presente estudio, financiado por la Fundación Ford y el IDRC, realiza un diagnóstico acerca de las trayectorias de desarrollo de jóvenes residentes en las zonas más afectadas por el conflicto (municipios PDET), las principales barreras estructurales que afrontan y...

We study a recent merit-based financial program for the poor in Colombia. We exploit sharp eligibility rules in household wealth and standardized test scores to identify the causal effect of financial aid on postsecondary enrollment and academic performance. We find large positive effects on...

This paper uses a natural experiment to identify the impact of a judicial system reform on police behavior. The study finds that, after a decrease in the severity of judicial punishment imposed on Colombian adolescents, arrest rates for adolescents in most misdemeanor crimes decreased due to a...

This study identifies the main problems that Colombia faces and the medium and long term policies that it should follows in order to become a developed country. We concentrate on five relevant elements of development: Education, health and demography, poverty and income distribution, labor...

Spanish Abstract: En 2014 el Ministerio de Educación Nacional de Colombia lanzó el programa Ser Pilo Paga como parte del objetivo de convertir el país en el más educado de América Latina en el 2025. Desde su creación, el programa ha beneficiado a más de 30,000 jóvenes de escasos recursos...

Spanish Abstract: Este trabajo estima el impacto causal que tienen los cambios en ingresos del hogar sobre la tasa de Violencia Domestica (VD) municipal para Colombia. Para ello se utiliza la variación exógena, dada en el tiempo y en el espacio, de los pagos del programa de Transferencia...

Using a unique data set from the major Colombian cities collected between 2000-2003 and with information on more than 16,000 households, this paper studies the relationship between the kidnap risk a household faces with its migration decisions. We find evidence that exposure to such risk induces...