Economics & Development

El Banco Mundial ha trabajado para fortalecer los registros sociales en América Latina y el Caribe y en el mundo durante varias décadas. Esta nota técnica tiene como objetivo contribuir a reducir la brecha de conocimiento sobre el estado del arte y los desafíos de los registros sociales en ALC, identificar dónde se encuentran sobre diversos criterios de análisis y generar recomendaciones sobre estrategias para fortalecer y consolidar su rol en el diseño, implementación y evaluación de políticas sociales en la región. Esta nota técnica está organizada en cinco secciones, incluyendo esta introducción. En la segunda sección se presenta el papel de los registros sociales en la política social. En la tercera sección se presenta la evolución de los registros sociales en ALC y cómo se adaptaron a los desafíos que surgieron para brindar respuestas inmediatas durante la pandemia de COVID-19. En la cuarta parte se describe de manera general el estado del arte de los registros sociales en la región, analizado desde cinco pilares: (i) arreglos institucionales, (ii) aspectos estructurales, (iii) cadena de implementación, (iv) sistemas de información e interoperabilidad, y (v) medidas de desempeño. En la quinta sección se presentan los principales retos a los que se enfrentan los registros y las recomendaciones del estudio.

Crisis preparedness requires a comprehensive and cross-sectoral approach to risk management with targeted interventions across a range of different sectors. To provide a holistic assessment of preparedness, the crisis preparedness gap analysis (CPGA) isolates five core components of crisis preparedness. These include legal and institutional foundations, understanding and monitoring of risks, financial preparedness, primary response, and social and livelihood support. The CPGA builds on and supplements a range of sector- and crisis-specific diagnostic tools. It does not replace or duplicate the in-depth assessments. This technical report presents gaps and opportunities to strengthen the capacity of the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) to prepare for crisis events in an effective and timely manner. It accompanies the CPGA Bhutan briefing note, providing further details on findings and entry points across the five components of crisis preparedness. The note is intended to inform policymakers to integrate crisis preparedness across different sectors.

Ratings for the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) Development and Growth Project for Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were as follows: outcome and Bank performance were highly satisfactory, and monitoring and evaluation (M and E) quality was high. Some lessons learned included: the achievements of the Project are a result of the multi-faceted instruments deployed under the Project, which reinforced each other and were tailored to the specific needs of different beneficiary groups. The analytical work carried out on micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and entrepreneurial ecosystem needs as well as the detailed preparation of SME instruments at the design stage were crucial for the Project’s success. The fragile and conflict-affected states (FCS) nature of context such as the DRC requires flexibility and modularity in the Project’s design and management. The Project employed a multi-faceted effective outreach model to inform and engage with women entrepreneurs that can serve as a model for similar projects in FCS contexts. The decentralization strategy to target select urban areas of interventions was critical to ensure proximity with the main beneficiaries (e.g., the MSMEs, including women and youth entrepreneurs); however, it requires engage with national and provincial stakeholders to establish ownership, build their capacity, and improve the enabling business environment. The reforms to strengthen the enabling business environment remain key to sustaining the development of MSMEs and value chains in strategic sectors of the economy. Procurement can become a major hurdle to overcome for multiple stakeholders. The SME hub pilot was successful, leading to the mobilization of United States (US) 15 million dollars in private capital, and can be scaled up as a key lever for the development of services, infrastructure, and partnerships crucial to the sustainable growth of MSMEs, supporting the overall ecosystem. The employment of private providers to implement activities was important for the Project’s success, particularly given the challenging context, while the systematic use of international-national consortiums facilitated knowledge transfer and local capacity building. In FCS contexts, private consortiums can provide crucial support with data collection, while capacity building to the Project Coordinating Unit (PCU) on M and E is also essential to ensure a well-functioning M and E system. The access to finance dimension is essential for supported firms to continue growing and giving them the freedom to use their banks for the reception of their cash grants, as opposed to employing only a selection of banks, can facilitate access to credit.