how accurate is our misinformation?: a randomized trial to assess the cost-effectiveness of admin...

Preface This research and publication came about in response to the need for a growing body of knowledge to support the healthy and integral development of young people in the region, so that interventions targeting this segment of the population can be more effective. The Social Sector of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), through its Division of Social Protection and Health, has been leading this project with the support of the Finnish Technical Assistance Fund.

In order to learn more about tools to measure high risk behaviors and confirm their accuracy, it was agreed to work with the Youth Employment Program (PJE) being implemented by the Ministry of Labor of the Dominican Republic. This research will complement the knowledge gleaned by that government through a rigorous evaluation of the impact of its program. The IDB and the World Bank are providing technical leadership for the impact assessment.

It is important to note that the PJE won the 2009 award for Best Practices in Youth Policies and Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean, conferred by the IDB and UNESCO and supported by the IDB-managed Korean Poverty Reduction Fund.

This experience is an example of the kind of partnership espoused in the Paris Declaration on Development Effectiveness, according to which the principles of ownership, alignment, harmonization, results, and mutual accountability should lead government ministries, multilateral development banks, and bilateral donors to work in tandem to deliver development aid as effectively as possible.