Interventions designed to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are popular among policy makers, given the role SMEs play in job creation around the world. Business support interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are often based on the assumption that market failures and institutional constraints impede the growth of SME growth. Significant resources from governments and international organizations are directed to SMEs to maximize their socioeconomic impact.

This study yields new insights on the changing landscape of Belize's economy and the challenges of equipping students and workers with the skills they need to thrive in an evolving labor market. Using census and labor force data, we show that Belize's economy is transitioning toward services and away from agriculture, manufacturing, and construction. We find that the country has potential for workforce development in a range of soft and digital skills that are in high demand in various sectors.

The objective of this brief is to examine how digital health interventions were used during past public health emergency situations from 2005-2020 to derive lessons learned and to analyze which types of digital health interventions were the most useful and relevant to deal with current and future situations. The brief answers four main questions 1) What are digital health interventions for public health emergencies and why do they matter?; 2) What can we learn from past experiences?; 3) What do we know from evidence?; and 4) What does this mean for current and future outbreaks.

Almost all schools in Latin America and the Caribbean are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ensuring the continuity of learning during the COVID-19 emergency is the main challenge faced by the education systems of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and the entire world. Unequal access to technology, connectivity and digital resources characterizes the countries of the region. It is essential to assist the most vulnerable groups of students and provide the necessary tools to families, teachers and school principals to enable learning at home.

The COVID-19 pandemic has come at a time of economic weakness in the Latin American and Caribbean region: in recent years there has been a deterioration in GDP per capita, as well as an increase in labor informality, which has already reached 56% of workers. Some projections estimate that, due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus, between the region and between 5.4 and 18 million jobs may be lost, which would raise the percentage of informal work to 62% of all jobs. This document collects the existing labor policy options to face the impact of COVID-19 in the labor market.

Electronic health record (EHR) systems are increasingly considered to be one of the most relevant information technology tools for strengthening health systems in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Despite this interest, few LAC countries have adopted EHR systems at scale. This document uses the available evidence to provide policy makers and other stakeholders with general insights about EHR systems.

This study yields new insights on the changing landscape of Belize's economy and the challenges of equipping students and workers with the skills they need to thrive in an evolving labor market. Using census and labor force data, we show that Belize's economy is transitioning toward services and away from agriculture, manufacturing, and construction. We find that the country has potential for workforce development in a range of soft and digital skills that are in high demand in various sectors.

Teacher evaluation is a key instrument to support the professional development of teachers and improve teacher effectiveness. This study analyzes teacher evaluation systems in Latin America and the Caribbean, and several high-performing education systems in other regions and presents practical guidance on how to develop a successful teacher evaluation system.