Influence of interlocked transactions on gum arabic production and marketing in Senegal

Interlocked relationships are characterised by traders’ supply of inputs and cash to producers on credit, to be reimbursed at sale time based on a pre-defined price which is often lower than the prevailing market price. The study analyses determinants of choice of interlocking in the gum sector in Senegal and the effect of interlocking on market participation and gum production. Data from 422 gum producers in Northern and Eastern regions of Senegal are used. About 41% of respondents are involved into interlocking with village shop-owners or mobile traders. Interlocking positively influences market participation and production as found through a Heckman selection model.Marketing,

Gum arabic production and marketing in Senegal: interlocked transactions and supply chain implications

Interlocked relationships are characterised by traders’ supply of inputs and cash to producers on credit, to be reimbursed at sale time based on pre-defined prices which are often lower than the prevailing market price. The study analyses determinants of choice for interlocking in the gum arabic sector in Senegal and the effect of interlocking on gum production and market participation; gum arabic is a natural exudates of Acacia Senegal trees that grow in the semi-arid lands of Africa. Data from 422 gum producers in Northern and Eastern regions of Senegal are used. About 45percent of respondents are involved into interlocking with village shop-owners or mobile traders. Interlocking has a negative effect on prices received by gum collectors. However, in the absence of effective credit markets, interlocking positively influences market participation and production as found through a two-step Heckman selection model by the provision of market assurance and safety for emergencies.interlocking, contracts, semi-arid lands, market participation, gum arabic, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries,

Financial Innovations Roundtable: Developing practical solutions to scale up integrated community development strategies

Essays from experts affiliated with the “think-do” tank , the Financial Innovations Roundtable, housed at the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire

Market for 33 percent interest loans. Financial inclusion and microfinance in India.

Financial inclusion is the process of building viable institutions that provide financial services to those hitherto excluded. These may include savings, insurances, remittances, and credit. Microfinance became the most dominant method for achieving financial inclusion. However, different microfinance schools of thought recommend opposite ways for attaining financial integration. India is a particularly insightful case study due to the sheer number of people excluded from formal financial services, as well as the spectrum of actors and approaches. The aim of this article is threefold. First, defining financial inclusion, depicting its status quo in India and comparing it to its South Asian and BRICS peers using recently released data from the Global Findex database. Second, focusing on microfinance as the dominant vehicle for achieving financial inclusion by scrutinizing its definitions, contrasting its two leading "schools of thought" and analyzing the central role of its dominant group-based approach. Third, the article will examine why people opt to take micro-credit at 33 percent interest rates

An Examination of Manufactured Housing as a Community- and Asset-Building Strategy

An increasing share of lower-income families, the same population targeted by community-development organizations, are opting to live in housing that was built off-site in a factory to meet the performance standards of the national HUD manufactured-housing code. However, most community-development practitioners are just beginning to come to terms with the implications of manufactured housing for their work.This paper explores advantages and disadvantages of manufactured housing for those entities whose mission is community development and asset building. Several challenges are presented for practitioners: First, working to educate consumers while also creating financing processes that ensure manufactured home buyers obtain credit on the best terms for which they can qualify. Second, using the increased scrutiny under the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 to advocate for states to enforce more rigorous installation standards and increased accountability. Third, working to overcome land-use controls which prevent manufactured homes from being placed in communities in need of affordable housing, as well as areas with more potential for appreciation. Fourth, working with designers and planners to develop innovative designs and housing developments, while maintaining manufactured housing's affordability advantages.Finally, equal effort must be devoted to address the difficult conditions of many lower-income people -- owners and renters alike -- living in older, and often deteriorating, mobile homes. While a few of these families and individuals could be relocated to new and better quality homes with the help of subsidies, resource limitations suggest the need to create cost-effective methods to eliminate health and safety problems by upgrading or rehabilitating this extremely affordable element of the nation's housing inventory.As a companion to this paper, an exhaustive literature review has been compiled

Land Titles, Credit Markets and Wealth Distributions

Does the existence of formal title to land and real estate matter for the distribution of wealth? This paper reviews the empirical literature on the economic impact of land and real estate administration systems across countries. This paper argues that a functioning credit market for secured credit is necessary to realize the full benefits of legal title to private real estate. This paper also reviews quantitative economic theory on wealth distribution to assess the likely impact of different land registration systems on wealth inequality. The implication of current theory is that poor land administration systems may sometimes lead to lower levels of wealth inequality than better land registration systems.land titles, credit markets, wealth distribution

Innovation in International Law and Global Finance: Estimating the Financial Impact of the Cape Town Convention

This paper examines the financial impact of a transfer of legal sovereignty covering the rights to collateral to an international regime in the case of the Cape Town Convention and Protocol covering international mobile assets, specifically commercial aircraft and related equipment, which came into force in 2004. We estimate the impact on financing costs facing airlines based in signatory countries in terms of access to financial markets and interest differentials, debt rating migration and stock prices using rating-sensitivity analysis, OLS regressions and event studies. We find that the present value of the resulting financing cost reductions are very significant and are biased in favor of developing countries, the sources of much of the growth in demand for commercial aircraft going forward. The results suggest the power of changes in the legal framework of financial markets to influence the costs and pricing of global financial flows

Scaling Up Inclusive Business -- Solutions to Overcome Internal Barriers

Sustainability challenges including poverty, social unrest, climate change and environmental degradation have become ever more urgent. Business has the technology, innovation capacity, resources, and skills to play a key role in providing the radical solutions the world desperately needs.The objective of this brief is to kick off greater dialogue on the internal barriers companies face along the pathway to scale in inclusive business and how to overcome them. Building on the hands-on experience of businesses active in this space and the valuable insights of experts, the following pages identify some of the most common internal barriers and the solutions that leading companies are using to tackle them. We gained new insights by looking at the work of thirteen companies: CEMEX, Grundfos, Grupo Corona, ITC Ltd., Lafarge, Masisa, Nestlé, Novartis, Novozymes, SABMiller, Schneider Electric, The Coca-Cola Company, and Vodafone. We also interviewed two leading academics doing research in this area, Cornell University's Erik Simanis (United States) and Universidad de los Andes' Ezequiel Reficco (Colombia)