The labor force participation of women is lower than the labor force participation of men. This empirical regularity is particularly acute in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In terms of labor market productivity and growth potential, these lower participation rates constitute a reserve of untapped resources. Providing an estimate of the impact that increased female participation in the labor force has on labor market outcomes and GDP is therefore crucial but challenging. Two issues are of importance: sample selection and equilibrium effects.

Conditional cash transfer programs have become a popular social protection tool in developing countries. They aim to reduce short-term poverty through cash transfers and long-term poverty through enhancing investments in human capital. While numerous evaluations of CCTs show positive short-term impacts, there is limited evidence on whether these benefits translate into sustained long-term gains.

This paper uses for the first time program administrative data from Brazil’s National Employment System (SINE) to assess the impact of SINE job interview referrals on labor market outcomes. Data for the five-year period 2012-2016 is used to evaluate the impact of SINE on employment probability, wage rates, time until reemployment and job tenure.

While the relationship between business cycles and employment is a topic of continuing interest, it has received limited attention in the literature focusing on developing countries. This study adds to the literature as it analyzes the heterogeneous correlations of business cycles with employment, unemployment and participation rate by different age, education, gender and ethnic groups in a developing country setting.

We study the effects of integrated social services on the utilization and subjective life satisfaction of women in El Salvador. The Ciudad Mujer “one-stop shop” centers integrate health, legal, employment and other services into a single secure environment for women. These integrated services could boost demand by reducing the cost of access, improving quality and exploiting complementarities in service provision.

Women with disabilities are at higher risk of experiencing violence than men with disabilities as well as women without disabilities. Yet, in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), there is a significant gap in services to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG) with disabilities in practice and in research alike. This technical note aims to: 1) bring to light the information that exists on the prevalence of and risk factors relating to VAWG who live with a disability in LAC, and 2) present various promising approaches for prevention in response to such violence.

Women with disabilities are at higher risk of experiencing violence than men with disabilities as well as women without disabilities. Yet, in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), there is a significant gap in services to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG) with disabilities in practice and in research alike. This technical note aims to: 1) bring to light the information that exists on the prevalence of and risk factors relating to VAWG who live with a disability in LAC, and 2) present various promising approaches for prevention in response to such violence.

In this interactive note, the third in the series "The future of Work in Latin America and the Caribbean," we combine traditional sources and new data sources to explore the impact that technological change has had on the evolution of occupations and skills demand in the region. In addition, we show the potential of a tool that works as a GPS of the labor market and that gives the opportunity for workers in Latin America and the Caribbean to detect the skills that will allow them to move from a declining occupation to an emerging one.

This policy brief uses data from censuses and household surveys in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region to analyze the gaps in school attendance and completion rates between children and youth with and without disabilities. We find that children and youth with disabilities are less likely to attend school and to complete key levels of education, such as secondary school.

This policy brief uses data from censuses and household surveys in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region to analyze the gaps in school attendance and completion rates between children and youth with and without disabilities. We find that children and youth with disabilities are less likely to attend school and to complete key levels of education, such as secondary school.