A descriptive analysis based on the Colombian Longitudinal Survey by Universidad los Andes – ELCA

In this book, we present the most important results of ELCA’s first wave applied in the first semester of 2010. Based on the database recollected, the authors make a preliminary diagnosis of households’ situation and its members in 67 urban and rural municipalities. This is ELCA’s first contribution to provide information in order to improve the design and evaluation of public policies. By showing the dynamics of urban and rural areas, we show the differences in each micro-region. For example, cognitive development is very different between the cities and the countryside. This implies that peasant children have some disadvantages in comparison with the children living in the cities. Also, rural and urban households use different response mechanisms to mitigate shocks. These differences allow us to analyze the situation in our country and to identify the problems experienced by Colombians.