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2013-01-03, Cervero, Robert, Suzuki, Hiroaki, Iuchi, Kanako

This study explores the complex process of transit and land-use integration in rapidly growing cities in developing countries. It first identifies barriers to and opportunities for effective coordination of transit infrastructure and urban development. It then recommends a set of policies and implementation measures for overcoming these barriers and exploiting these opportunities. Well-integrated transit and land development create urban forms and spaces that reduce the need for travel by private motorized vehicles. Areas with good access to public transit and well-designed urban spaces that are walkable and bikeable become highly attractive places for people to live, work, learn, play, and interact. Such environments enhance a city's economic competitiveness, reduce local pollution and global greenhouse gas emissions, and promote inclusive development. These goals are at the heart of transit-oriented development (TOD), an urban form that is increasingly important to sustainable urban futures. This book uses a case study approach. It draws lessons from global best-case examples of transit-oriented metropolises that have direct relevance to cities in developing countries and elsewhere that are currently investing in bus rapid transit (BRT) and other high-capacity transit systems. It also reports the results of two original in-depth case studies of rapidly growing and motorizing cities that introduced extended BRT systems: Ahmedabad, India and Bogota, Colombia. Two shorter case studies enrich the understanding of factors that are critical to transforming cities with transit.

2012-06-01, Moller, Lars Christian, Junquera-Varela, Raúl Félix, Alvarez, Daniel

El presente estudio forma parte de un programa de servicios de conocimiento programático ofrecido por el Banco Mundial. El objetivo global de esta iniciativa, preparada por el Departamento de Política Pública en la región de América Latina y el Caribe (LCSPE), es el fortalecimiento de la política fiscal y del crecimien¬to económico. Uno de sus principios más importantes es la flexibilidad de su contenido, considerando las demandas del cliente. El programa está vinculado a la Alianza Estratégica entre el Gobierno de Colombia y el Banco Mundial, apoyando a un mejor gestión fiscal, financiera y del riesgo, bajo el objetivo de “creci-miento incluyente con productividad mejorada”. En términos concretos, se busca fortalecer la política fiscal, tanto en el lado del recaudo como en el del gasto. Aparte del estudio presente, se contemplan otros estudios vinculados como: (1) un análisis de la política de redistribución fiscal en Co¬lombia; (2) un estudio del sistema pensional, para apoyar al Gobierno en el proceso de preparación de la reforma pensional; (3) un ejercicio de análisis fiscal en el nivel descentralizado. Finalmente, el programa de servicios de conocimiento tiene un vínculo importante con el Préstamo Programático para Políticas de Desarrollo a favor de la Recuperación del Crecimiento y la Sostenibilidad Fiscal, cuyo objetivo es aportar a un conjunto consolidado de reformas fiscales del Gobierno.

2010, Moro, Andrea, Nopo, Hugo, Chong, Alberto, Nopo, Hugo, Chong, Alberto, Moro, Andrea

The chapters presented in this volume adopt a variety of these methodological tools in order to explore the extent to which discrimination against women and demographic minorities is pervasive in Latin America. In chapter two, Castillo, Petrie, and Torero present a series of experiments to understand the nature of discrimination in urban Lima, Peru. They design and apply experiments that exploit degrees of information on performance as a way to assess how personal characteristics affect how people sort into groups. Along similar lines, in chapter three, Cardenas and his research team use an experimental field approach in Colombia to better understand pro-social preferences and behavior of both individuals involved in the provision of social services (public servants) and potential beneficiaries of those services (the poor). In chapter four, Elias, Elias, and Ronconi try to understand social status and race during adolescence in Argentina. They asked high school students to select and rank ten classmates with whom they would like to form a team and use this information to construct a measure of popularity. In chapters five and six, Bravo, Sanhueza, and Urzua present two studies covering different aspects of the labor market using different methodological tools. Based on an audit study by mail, their first study attempts to detect gender, social class, and neighborhood of residence discrimination in hiring practices by Chilean fir. In a second study, they use a structural model to analyze gender differences in the Chilean labor market. In chapter seven, Soruco, Piani, and Rossi measure and analyze possible discriminatory behaviors against international emigrants and their families remaining in southern Ecuador (the city of Cuenca and the rural canton of San Fernando). Finally, in chapter eight, Gandelman, Gandelman, and Rothschild use micro data on judicial proceedings in Uruguay and present evidence that female defendants receive a more favorable treatment in courts than male defendants.