Mortgage finance in central and eastern Europe -- opportunity or burden ?

Household credit, especially for mortgages, has doubled over the past years in the new European Union member countries, raising concerns about the economic and social consequences of household indebtedness in the event of a macroeconomic crisis. Using household survey data for 2005, 2006, and 2007 for both old and new European Union members, this paper assesses the determinants of access to mortgage finance. It also examines whether mortgage holders were more likely to suffer financial distress compared with non-mortgage holders in the period before the global financial crisis. The analysis does not find any systematic evidence that mortgage holders are financially more vulnerable than renters or outright owners; in fact, the incidence of financial vulnerability generally fell between 2005 and 2007, possibly reflecting the strong income growth experienced by these countries over this period. In addition, although tenure status is more difficult to explain in the new European Union member countries, the analysis finds that many of the same drivers of tenure status in the older member countries generally drive tenure status in the newer member countries as well. Finally, there is no evidence that access to mortgage credit is based on expected income in the old or in the new European Union member countries.Access to Finance,Debt Markets,Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress,Emerging Markets,Housing Finance

Mortgage Finance in Central and Eastern Europe: Opportunity or Burden?

Household credit, especially for mortgages, has doubled over the past years in the new European Union member countries, raising concerns about the economic and social consequences of household indebtedness in the event of a macroeconomic crisis. Using household survey data for 2005, 2006, and 2007 for both old and new European Union members, this paper assesses the determinants of access to mortgage finance. It also examines whether mortgage holders were more likely to suffer financial distress compared with non-mortgage holders in the period before the global financial crisis. The analysis does not find any systematic evidence that mortgage holders are financially more vulnerable than renters or outright owners; in fact, the incidence of financial vulnerability generally fell between 2005 and 2007, possibly reflecting the strong income growth experienced by these countries over this period. In addition, although tenure status is more difficult to explain in the new European Union member countries, the analysis finds that many of the same drivers of tenure status in the older member countries generally drive tenure status in the newer member countries as well. Finally, there is no evidence that access to mortgage credit is based on expected income in the old or in the new European Union member countries.household credit, housing finance, financial vulnerability, EU accession

COMPARISON OF THE FROST RESISTANCE OF BARLEY (HORDEUM VULGARE L.) LANDRACES OF UPLAND ETHIOPIA USING ELECTROLYTE-LEAKAGE AND CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE

Barley is the most important crop in the highlands of Ethiopia at altitudes above 2600 m, where its productivity is limited by cold stress. We studied 25 Ethiopian barley landraces in order to identify cold tolerant types and to describe characteristics and acclimation potentials of these landraces to cold stress. Barley plants were grown from seeds in a temperature-controlled greenhouse (20/15°C) for six weeks prior to investigation. Membrane leakage, assayed by electric conductivity, was investigated before and after the plants had been subjected to freeze-thaw cycles at different sub-freezing temperatures down to -10°C. The critical temperature (CT50), at which the frost-induced damage was 50% of the maximal injury, ranged for most landraces between -5.6 and  -8.6°C. Maximum difference in sensitivity to frost among the various races was observed at -5.0°C. Neither the altitude of the habitat, from where the seeds had been collected, nor the maturation time of the landraces were correlated with the degree of frost tolerance of the landraces. The influence of the growth conditions on the capability of frost hardening of cold-tolerant and sensitive landraces was investigated using chlorophyll a fluorescence. Barley seedlings were grown under three different regimes: In a temperature controlled greenhouse (20/15°C, day/night), under simulated tropical alpine conditions (tropical-alpine greenhouse, 16/0°C, 12 h light period), and in a phytotrone at constant 2°C day and night. Effective quantum yield of photosynthesis was measured at several temperatures in the course of freeze-thaw cycles (+20 to -10 to +20°C). Whereas growth and the effective photosynthetic quantum yield of the plants in the phytotrone were low, cold hardening was effective as shown by the recovery of the photosynthetic quantum yield upon re-warming of the frozen plants. Effective quantum yield of the plants grown in the tropical alpine greenhouse was as high as with the control plants, but only 2 of 6 investigated landraces showed immediate recovery of the photosynthetic quantum yield after freezing. Landraces which showed the highest cold tolerance were found to acclimatize best