This document surveys Bank lending operations designed to fight poverty and enhance social equity, with emphasis on recently approved projects with innovative components. It also surveys a broad range of poverty-related non-lending activities carried out by the Bank over the past two years. It...

Efficiency and equity are priorities in the social policies of both industrial and developing countries. This study examines how different value judgments lead to different concepts of efficiency and equity and demonstrates that conceptual clarity can improve social services delivery.

Efficiency and equity are priorities in the social policies of both industrial and developing countries. This study examines how different value judgments lead to different concepts of efficiency and equity and demonstrates that conceptual clarity can improve social services delivery.

Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs have become the anti-poverty program of choice in many developing countries. Numerous evaluations, often based on rigorous experimental designs, leave little doubt that such programs can increase enrollment and grades attained--in the short term. But...

The Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE) is preparing the Country Program Evaluation (CPE) for the Dominican Republic for the period 2009-2013. This approach paper defines the evaluation's scope. This CPE ims to analyze the Bank's relationship with the country, taking an independent and...

This evaluation conducted a comprehensive analysis of the long-term socioeconomic impact on the resettled population in the context of the Porce II Hydroelectric Project in Antioquia, Colombia. The evaluation's results highlight the formalization of landholdings, as well as quality improvements...

Jamaica continues to implement its ambitious social safety net reform that began in 2000 with significant results. This includes an increase in beneficiaries of its main programs, improvements in the level of benefits, and important gains in social development. Maintaining these gains -or at...