https://www.caf.com/en/knowledge/ CAFs management inKnowledge https://www.caf.com/en/knowledge/ https://www.caf.com/media/4662825/caforiginalcaribeh-eng.svg en-US Copyright 2026 CAF Knowledge/sustainable development/Latinamerica/Conocimiento umbraco 7.15.6 sciotecaItem This paper examines the impact of an internship program in Argentina (Programa Primer Paso; PPP) on the formal employ ment trajectories of people with disabilities (PwD). Using ad ministrative data from 2002 to 2023 and a staggered difference in-differences design, we estimate that program participation increases formal employment and improves employment sta bility over time. The average probability of being formally em ployed rises 8 percentage points within three years after treat ment, with the effect growing over time. The program also increases sustained employment and total months in formal jobs. About three-quarters of the employment gains arise from jobs at firms other than the initial internship host, indicating broad integration into the formal labor market, not just formal ization of preexisting ties. The findings suggest that internships can reduce labor market gaps for PwD in developing countries, with patterns consistent with three mechanisms: alleviating in formational frictions, raising expectations about employment prospects, and acquiring transferable skills. http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2635 Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2635 sciotecaItem The 2026 edition of CAF’s Report on Economic Development (RED) places rural areas in Latin America and the Caribbean at the center of the development agenda. These areas are home to strategic assets for the region—fertile land, biodiversity, forests, energy sources, and critical minerals—and a population of nearly 120 million people, making them pillars of food security, the energy transition, and environmental sustainability. Through a detailed analysis, the report shows how, despite significant progress in productive modernization and increases in agricultural productivity, significant gaps persist in poverty, informality, infrastructure, and access to basic services, along with a decline in agricultural employment and marked territorial and sectoral disparities. The document also identifies opportunities to strengthen value chains and diversify the productive base in key sectors—agriculture and agribusiness, mining and energy, fisheries and aquaculture, forestry, and tourism—in a context of growing global demand for sustainable goods and increasing risks associated with climate change and price volatility. http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2626 Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2626 sciotecaItem CAF, with 24 shareholder countries, assesses the development contributions of its annually approved lending operations, with a focus on investment projects, sovereign and non-sovereign loans, and equity investments. This factsheet presents key figures on the impact achieved in the areas of energy transition, climate change adaptation and mitigation, social infrastructure, and green financing. http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2623 Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2623 sciotecaItem This study examines the responses of household electricity consumption to temperature changes, focusing on asymmetries between welfare deciles. Our analysis exploits a unique panel dataset for Peru that links household survey microdata with repeated administrative records on energy use and local temperature. Using fixed-effects models, we estimate how electricity consumption varies with temperature, highlighting the unequal capacity of households across income deciles to adapt to climate change. Based on this evidence, we propose and implement a novel measure of adaptive energy poverty, which captures households’ ability to respond to rising ambient temperatures through increased electricity consumption. http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2610 Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2610 sciotecaItem CAF’s Education Strategy 2030 sets out a roadmap to transform education systems in Latin America and the Caribbean in the face of historical disparities and gaps exacerbated by the pandemic, proposing concrete actions to ensure an inclusive, equitable, high-quality education system adapted to the demands of the 21st century. The document outlines three strategic objectives: to strengthen learning environments through resilient infrastructure, personalized teaching, and the comprehensive adoption of technologies; to develop safe, efficient, and inclusive educational environments that improve governance, management, financing, and links with the productive sector; and to address rural challenges through territorial policies, flexible and intercultural teaching approaches, and the strengthening of local capacities. The strategy is complemented by innovative financial instruments, technical cooperation, and strategic partnerships, directing educational investment toward measurable and sustainable results to drive the region’s human, social, and economic development. http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2609 Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2609 blogPost For the region to be a leader in the environmental struggle, financial support is necessary, and this can only be achieved with instruments that put a fair price on carbon and give economic value to ecosystem services. https://www.caf.com/en/blog/latin-america-and-the-caribbean-a-key-player-in-global-productive-transformation/ Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.caf.com/en/blog/latin-america-and-the-caribbean-a-key-player-in-global-productive-transformation/ sciotecaItem Do second chances at a high-stakes admission exam yield long-term gains? Leveraging fifteen years of Chilean administrative data and an RDD, we examine the causal effects of retaking on educational and labor market trajectories. Narrowly missing a preferred program cutoff triggers a 44% increase in retaking, leading to substantial score gains (0.27 SD) and improved placement and enrollment chances. However, these immediate gains do not persist. Retakers graduate at the same rate and from programs with similar earnings and employability profiles as their counterfactual peers. Our results suggest that retaking serves as a reshuffling mechanism yielding null net welfare gains. http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2607 Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2607 sciotecaItem The Housing Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2025 presents a unique comparative database for 15 countries, integrating 261 variables on housing markets, financing, land, informality, and affordability. It shows a region with incipient macroeconomic stability but marked by high labor and housing informality, persistent qualitative deficits, and growing difficulties in accessing formal housing. The publication highlights the low depth of mortgage credit, subsidies with limited targeting, a shortage of well-located land, and sustainability challenges, while emphasizing the urgency of more inclusive financial instruments, better urban land management, and policies that integrate quality, location, and resilience. The central issue—housing informality—reveals structural failures in regulation, access to land, and financing, and points toward comprehensive urban solutions based on evidence and regional cooperation. http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2602 Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2602 sciotecaItem We examine the relationship between family size and children’s human capital, commonly known as the quantity–quality trade-off in Latin America. Despite historically high fertility rates and a rapid convergence toward levels observed in high-income countries, evidence on this trade-off in the region remains limited. Using census data from five countries and a twin instrumental variable strategy, we estimate the causal effect of family size on educational outcomes. We document a trade-off in households with three or more children: an additional sibling increases the likelihood of falling behind in school, reduces primary school completion, and lowers total years of schooling. The magnitude of the trade-off is related to tighter financial constraints, more traditional gender norms, and insufficient local school supply. Identifying the contexts in which these trade-offs arise is essential for understanding how fertility patterns shape gaps in human capital accumulation and for informing policies aimed at narrowing intergenerational disparities. http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2598 Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2598 sciotecaItem In this edition, Visions of Development addresses the main challenges and opportunities that mark the agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean in a rapidly changing world. Its pages analyze geopolitical tensions, the demands of the energy transition, and the growing climate emergency, as well as the possibilities arising from new international alliances and coordinated action between governments, the private sector, and civil society. From the redefinition of the bi-regional relationship between the European Union and LAC to the region's role as a source of climate and territorial solutions, the publication highlights innovative proposals in areas such as the green economy, productive integration, sustainable infrastructure, the blue economy, and youth leadership. With a vision that combines realism and aspiration, this edition invites us to rethink the future of regional development with a sustainable, inclusive approach that is deeply connected to the communities and ecosystems that define the region. http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2592 Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2592