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Aristotle’s Wisdom and Synergies at IDB Group
The philosophical maxim about the whole and the parts is the perfect metaphor for illustrating how we work together to multiply the impact of our institutional efforts to build a better world.
Are Financial Institutions Ready to Face Climate Risks? This Is What We Found Out
An IDB Invest survey shows they require guidance and a solid legal framework to navigate a complex landscape. Experts recommend focusing on three pillars: governance and culture, implementation and engagement, and transition planning.
Artificial Intelligence for Timely Diagnosis of Tropical Diseases
Climate change accelerates the transmission of infections. Technology can help win this race against time, save costs, and save lives, especially in Amazonia and other vulnerable areas.
How to support business productivity: three lessons learned in Brazil
Increased productivity is considered the only sustainable model for improving living conditions over the long term: it reduces the use of resources and increases production, which is reflected in higher per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and is a necessary – although not always sufficient – condition for wage growth. Unfortunately, in Latin America and the Caribbean, productivity has not increased since the mid-70s, and has in fact shrunk in many countries. A recurrent action by governments to change this situation is the creation of business support programs. Although the model varies according to sector and country, the basic argument is the same: market deficiencies keep companies from reaching their potential; if these obstacles were eliminated, companies could operate more efficiently and generate greater social well-being based on increased competition, innovation and access to external markets or better coordination in value chains. Business-support programs: the case of Brazil But are business support programs of this type really effective? To answer this question, a recent study by the IDB Office of Evaluation and Oversight analyzed the case of Brazil, where nearly 900,000 companies received more than 1.4 million government subsidies to support their productive activities between 2002 and 2012. During this period, 5.4 million mostly small-sized companies (75% had less than 10 employees in 2012) were operating in the country, basically in the trade and services sectors. 16.4% of these companies participated in at least one productive support program, primarily in the form of capital provided for investments. The largest companies, which also offered better salaries and employed workers with higher educational levels, generally received training for export and support for innovation. Support in the form of working capital and, to a lesser extent, investment capital, benefitted smaller companies, with lower salaries and employees with lower educational levels. The Results: What can we learn from them? Due to the intertwined nature of the programs, it is difficult to link effects and interventions, so that the study focuses on the nearly 600,000 companies that only participated in a single program. The results are not very promising: there have been few effects on productivity or other indicators. One of the positive results determined by the study is that the survival rate of the beneficiary companies (90%) exceeded the average for Brazilian companies (67%). However, in only a few companies was it possible to draw a connection between the interventions and increased productivity. The results, although better in support programs for companies in the industrial sector, were rarely positive for the trade and services sectors. In fact, the interventions tend to be associated with decreased salaries and employment. These results point to the need to redefine the scope, design and monitoring of business support programs in Brazil, and leave us with key challenges for improving their efficacy in the future: Improved incentives: given that productivity is not explicitly defined in the programs as an expected outcome, the programs have no incentives to encourage companies to invest in new technologies and take measures to increase efficiency. Coordination of efforts: even though several programs are designed to work in combination or at least in parallel with others, the results suggest the need to optimize the current mechanisms for coordination among organizations working together. Results measurement: difficulty in evaluating some of the programs underscores the importance of incorporating monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in their design, which will make it possible to learn from the results. Understanding the effect of productive development programs on companies and on the economy, beyond the Brazilian case, requires additional analyses, but this study can be a starting point. I invite you to access all the data here. Subscribe to receive more content like this! [mc4wp_form]
Supporting sustainable palm oil in Latin America and the Caribbean
African palm oil accounts for the bulk of vegetable oil sales in the world, and it is estimated that demand for this oil will grow significantly in the near future. But how is palm oil used? Although many of us are unaware of all its potential uses in industry, we use palm oil daily in a great variety of products, such as processed foods (ice creams, cookies, spreads, etc.), cosmetics, and automobile fuel. Review the labels on the products you use frequently and you will be surprised.
Digital highways and their similarity to transportation highways
Poor bandwidth infrastructure is like traveling on a dirt road. The technological disruption we are experiencing is something unprecedented. When we compare it to the industrial revolution and the enormous impact it has on per capita gross domestic product (GDP), we can assert with total certainty that this digital revolution is changing everything, from the corporate, to the social, and even the political order. Quite rightly we call it the industrial revolution 4.0. This explosion of technology occurs in the context of the world of data, data that can only be moved with the necessary infrastructure of digital networks. Thus, just like in any traditional highway infrastructure project, without routes to permit the movement of trucks, buses, and automobiles, we could not connect destinations, trades and people. In the world of technology, data would be the means of mobility like automobiles, and networks would be the digital highways or routes available in a country, which is directly determined by the country’s regulatory framework and capital investments in the country made by mobile or satellite telephone service operators. To put the importance of the digital highway in perspective, and using the example of Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete, CEO of Telefónica España: “It took landline phones 75 years to reach 100 million users and it’s taken Pokémon Go 23 days. Why? Because if networks are digitized, the capacity to distribute a digital product is immense.” In order for companies like YouTube, Airbnb, Netflix and Uber —to cite a few— to offer their services and connect data, information, services and products, it is vital to build and invest in an adequate digital highway. The data coming from these digital highways no doubt have the potential to improve lives and Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete summarizes this as follows: “Analog life will merge with digital life. Buying patterns, how cars are driven, gas, water and electricity meters, microwaves, the refrigerator, the dishwasher…everything will be connected to the Internet and transmit data.” Thus, we must have digital highways so that this exponential quantity of data can be processed. To ensure the positive effects of the 21st century’s digital economy, constructing and investing in those digital highways must be the priority for economic development and social inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean. IDB Invest has invested and will continue to invest in the region in projects that help to expand the digital highway, because we know that 10% penetration by broadband has an average economic effect of 2% to 3% on GDP and 2.6% on productivity. Subscribe to receive more content like this! [mc4wp_form]
SMEs and the Challenge to Export
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are an essential part of a dynamic and healthy economy. Their increase in number and growth advances competition and strengthens the entrepreneurial ecosystem, with a positive and significant impact on innovation and aggregate productivity. SMEs represent close to 90% of the companies in a typical Latin American or Caribbean country and employ most of the labor force (close to 70%). They also tend to create a substantial portion of new jobs; although many of these jobs do not survive, the net effect tends to be positive. However, the region’s SMEs show a low level of internalization (learning by doing) compared to their peers in the developed countries or other emerging economies, or even compared to large companies in the same sector and country. Exporting: Relevance and challenge There is abundant evidence showing that Latin American and Caribbean countries are behind developed countries, due to the productivity gap. Improving productivity is essential for the region’s economies and expanding exports can help. First, international trade produces a reallocation of resources from less productive companies and sectors to more productive ones. Second, by exporting companies learn (learning-by-exporting) and innovate, which is reflected in significant efficiency gains. Finally, international trade affects the incentives for investment in activities that promote technological dissemination and generates spillover effects in international knowledge. However, companies face many obstacles when they try to enter external markets. They have to contact clients abroad, identify business opportunities, learn about distribution channels and administrative procedures, among other aspects. All these activities generate a wealth of information that can be used by other companies at no additional cost (or lower cost). This scenario generates a problem of free riding in the search for foreign buyers, given that the pioneer uncovers highly valuable information that can be used by other companies to imitate their behavior. In this context, where the private returns of the forerunners are less than the social returns, market incentives tend to lead to a suboptimal level of investment in the exploration of international markets. Thus, the existence of information externalities can negatively affect companies’ internalization process and provides a key rationale for encouraging companies to export. It’s even more difficult for SMEs In addition, SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean tend to face restrictions in various areas of business — due to various market failures and failures in coordination — limiting their internalization. These areas are primarily access to credit, the intensity of innovation, capacities (human capital) and the organizational structure. SMEs in the region have limited access to credit, due to information asymmetry problems — financial institutions usually do not have the information they need to evaluate and monitor SMEs’ projects, which can cause problems of moral hazard — but also because financial products are not suited to SME needs, particularly due to scale problems related to the fixed costs of the lending process and the lack of long-term financing. In addition, SMEs generally do not have (sufficient) collateral, while their access to credit is highly dependent on collateral and not so much on expected returns as in the case of large companies. The nature of knowledge as a public good, information asymmetries and the lack of coordination particularly limit SMEs’ innovation and competitiveness both domestically and internationally. On the other hand, these companies tend to lack capacities — qualified and experienced personnel — for the export process: identifying, selecting and obtaining information on external markets, designing and implementing marketing strategies, and developing contracts overseas. SMEs have limited knowledge on exportable products and the underlying factors that determine international competitiveness (e.g., packaging, quality regulations, standards, etc.). Also, SMEs face other specific barriers specific related to export activities such as language, paperwork, billing, and sales management. Lastly, SMEs have characteristically weak corporate governance and management and business structures even though in most cases these are companies with personalized and traditional organizational hierarchies linked to a single owner or family. All these factors profoundly limit the export capacity and competitiveness of these companies. A model helping Argentine SMEs to export In 2002, the Fundación Banco Credicoop, with support from the IDB Group, created the Diverpymex program. The objective of this program is to help non-exporting SMEs to successfully enter export markets and exporting SMEs to increase their exports, whether through consolidation and/or diversification. The program consists of three stages that consider the phases in the export development process: Evaluating the company’s export potential: Analyze its skills and competence for operating in international markets. A program coordinator and a consultant visit the company and gather information on its organization, operations and products, and hold meetings with the managers to evaluate the company’s entrepreneurial spirit in terms of export activities and potential commitment to incorporate an intern (in the absence of qualified staff) and to make the investments necessary to develop its exporter profile. Developing an export plan: The company, with technical assistance from the consultant, researches and selects potential markets and clients, and decides which are best suited to them. It also establishes objectives, develops a budget, plans how the exports will be managed, and analyzes financial, logistical, and staffing requirements, as well as other aspects of the export process. Implementing the plan: The company undertakes planned actions in foreign markets. At this point, training and technical assistance activities are carried out on specific subjects that arise during the process of market penetration such as shipments and insurance, quality and environmental standards, design and packaging, marketing channels, tax legislation, and others. How do we evaluate the impact and what have we learned? In a recent study done by IDB Invest, we evaluated the Diverpymex program’s impact on SME’s export behavior, growth and productivity. The study analyzes the dynamics and sequence of the effects, allowing for inferences regarding the mechanisms through which the program affects the companies’ performance. What were the main results? The program has a positive and significant impact on SME’s export behavior, growth and productivity. The positive effect on the likelihood of exporting and entering new markets is significantly greater in the short term, which confirms the importance of high costs for entering foreign markets. The positive effect on the amount of exports, for companies that were already exporting, appears over the medium term, and it is related to the resolution of more specific information barriers to markets and products, allowing these companies to grow and consolidate their efforts in export markets. Finally, the program increases the company’s productivity in the long term, indicating that SMEs achieve efficiency gains due to a learning-by-exporting process. 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Water Management: The Key for the Successful Hydroelectric Generation in Norway
This Nordic country's conditions for generating clean energy based on hydro sources are nearly perfect. A large part of its territory is made up of alpine plateaus, with altitudes of nearly one thousand meters above sea level.
What is a B-bond?
With a nearly $200 billion a year financing gap, it is virtually impossible for the development banks in Latin America and the Caribbean to close it alone. However, there is good news.