Training, Soft Skills and Productivity: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Retail

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on Mon, 05/04/2020 - 12:15

Understanding the causal association between skills and productivity is essential for designing effective training programs. This paper evaluates an intervention aimed at boosting leadership and communication skills among store managers and sales associates from a large Latin American retailer. The empirical analysis is carried out using longitudinal information gathered by the firm and through two skills surveys. The Identification exploits the experimental design in the context of a difference-in-difference strategy.

Social Protection and Health Division’s Approach to Digital Transformation: Guidelines and Recommendations

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on Mon, 05/04/2020 - 12:14

Digital transformation is here to stay, as evidenced by the growing consensus among the global community. The Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region has large deficiencies in quality and efficiency, two areas in which digital transformation of services has significant potential. While digital transformation is changing lives, digital tools are not, and never will be, “silver bullets” that improve quality, safety and efficiency on their own.

Race Differences in Police Violence and Crime Victimization in Brazil

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on Mon, 05/04/2020 - 12:14

We test for racial differences in crime victimization between whites and Afro-descendants in the form of thefts, robberies, sexual and physical assaults and police aggressions in Brazil. We explore the presence of skin color tone bias in victimization by the police. Methods With a novel dataset produced by the Ministry of Justice of Brazil in 2012, we use 6 different logit regression models to estimate marginal effects.

Race Differences in Police Violence and Crime Victimization in Brazil

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on Mon, 05/04/2020 - 12:14

We test for racial differences in crime victimization between whites and Afro-descendants in the form of thefts, robberies, sexual and physical assaults and police aggressions in Brazil. We explore the presence of skin color tone bias in victimization by the police. Methods With a novel dataset produced by the Ministry of Justice of Brazil in 2012, we use 6 different logit regression models to estimate marginal effects.

Boosting our youth’s resilience in the face of COVID-19: emotion regulation is key

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on Tue, 04/28/2020 - 21:04

Dr. Bibi Groot is Director and Head of Educational Policy at CLOO Behavioral Insights Unit – a specialist consultancy firm in the area of behavioral (public) policy. CLOO’s mission is to address real-world challenges through a scientific understanding of human behavior.

Four Steps to Adapt a Child Development Program in Times of COVID-19

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on Mon, 04/27/2020 - 14:18

Evidence-based science has shown the importance of parental programs to promote early child development like the Reach Up program from Jamaica. Even though the studies have demonstrated relevant effect sizes in overall childhood development, we still need to understand how to transfer and scale up those interventions across countries, especially now with the current pandemic, in a way that they can be adapted and implemented in all kinds of contexts.

Lifelong Learning During COVID-19 is Imperative

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on Thu, 04/23/2020 - 20:45

Jeremy Auger is the Chief Strategy Officer at D2L – a world leader in education technology. D2L works with national and sub-national governments to deliver learning and skills development to individuals anytime, anywhere. D2L is member of the 21st Century Skills Coalition joined by different public and private organizations to promote the development of 21st century skills in Latin America and the Caribbean.