Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) are an endogenous innovation from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) that aims to reduce current poverty while developing the human capital of the next generation, in the attempt to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty. Pioneered in Brazil and Mexico in the late 1990s, by 2011 CCTs had spread to 18 countries in the region and covered as many as 135 million beneficiaries.

Although cervical cancer is considered one of the most preventable types of cancer, mortality rates in many developing countries are extremely high. This paper exploits the randomized research design of a large welfare program "PROGRESA" to study the existence of spillover effects in cervical cancer screening in rural Mexico. I find significant evidence of increased demand for Papanicolaou cervical cancer screening among women ineligible for the transfer, yet no evidence of similar externalities in non-gender specific tests, such as blood pressure and blood sugar checks.

In Paraguay, for the past three years the Ministry of Education and Culture and the IDB have jointly studied what works in math and science education in Paraguay. During this time we have been fortunate to develop meaningful partnerships with hundreds of school districts, as well as with the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Organization of Ibero-American States. With this publication we hope to invite other actors from the private and nongovernmental sectors and from the donor community to partner with us in promoting math and science learning for all Paraguayan children.

This book presents a regional overview of gender and ethnic disparities in labor earnings during this last turn of the century. After this introduction, chapter 2 presents the methodology adopted by the book and the data sources employed. Chapter 3 then examines education in the region, highlighting the reversal of the gender schooling gap. Nowadays, girls attend more years of schooling than boys. After these three introductory chapters, the book then turns to the analysis of earnings gaps.