Geographic targeting is perhaps the most popular mechanism used to direct social programs to the poor in Latin America. This paper empirically compares geographic targeting indicators available in Peru. To this effect, I combine household-level information from the 1997 Peru Living Standards...

Many poor households in developing countries are liquidity-constrained. As a result, they may under-invest in the human capital of their children. We provide new evidence on the long-term (10-year) effects of cash transfers using data from Ecuador. Our analysis is based on two separate sources...

How important are subsistence concerns in a family's decision to send a child to work? We consider this question in Ecuador, where poor families are selected at random to receive a cash transfer that is equivalent to 7 percent of monthly expenditures. Winning the cash transfer lottery is...

: The economic rationale for conditional cash transfers -- Design and implementation features of CCT programs -- The impact of CCTs on consumption poverty and employment -- The impact of CCT programs on the accumulation of human capital -- Conditional cash transfers : policy and design options

"Does child labor decrease as household income rises? This question has important implications for the design of policy on child labor. This paper focuses on a program of unconditional cash transfers in Ecuador. It argues that the effect of a small increase in household income on child labor...

Raising children: the case for government intervention -- A report card on early childhood development -- Family first -- Daycare services: it's all about quality -- Early schooling: teachers make the difference -- More bang for the buck: investing in early childhood development -- Drawing up an...