Collaterals, Bank Monitoring and Performance: the Case of Newly Established Wine Farmers

This research aims at identifying the incentives associated to collaterals in an asymmetric information context and when the bank is the main financial partner of the entrepreneurs, which is typically the case for most farms and especially in the wine sector. In one hand, collaterals may reduce the risk of overinvestment by entrepreneurs and so reduce the risk of repayment default. In the other hand, to contract collaterals may lead the bank to reduce the monitoring effort. In this paper we test these two hypotheses in taking into account the fact that entrepreneurs can benefit from a banking relationship or not. Our results confirm that collaterals’ incentives depend on the bank monitoring. Moreover, this emphasizes the uniqueness of land mortgages. Besides, our results confirm that the revenue constraint is binding and thus, make critical the question of financial resources for newly established wine farmers.Collaterals, incentives, bank monitoring, Agricultural Finance, G32, G33, G35,

Impact evaluation of trade interventions : paving the way

The focus of trade policy has shifted in recent years from economy-wide reductions in tariffs and trade restrictions toward targeted interventions to facilitate trade and promote exports. Most of these latter interventions are based on the new mantra of"aid-for-trade"rather than on hard evidence on what works and what does not. On the one hand, rigorous impact-evaluation is needed to justify these interventions and to improve their design. On the other hand, rigorous evaluation is feasible because unlike traditional trade policy, these interventions tend to be targeted and so it is possible to construct treatment and control groups. When interventions are not targeted, such as in the case of customs reforms, some techniques, such as randomized control trials, may not be feasible but meaningful evaluation may still be possible. Theis paper discusses examples of impact evaluations using a range of methods (experimental and non-experimental), highlighting the particular issues and caveats arising in a trade context, and the valuable lessons that are already being learned. The authors argue that systematically building impact evaluation into trade projects could lead to better policy design and a more credible case for"aid-for-trade."Economic Theory&Research,Trade Policy,Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Free Trade

Contrat bancaire et monitoring : le cas de l’installation en viticulture

La banque est le premier apporteur de ressources financières externes des jeunes viticulteurs. Cet article s’intéresse aux interactions entre les termes formels du contrat bancaire (montant de la dette, garanties, part de la dette à court terme) et le monitoring exercé par le banquier. L’analyse empirique montre que l’engagement ex ante de la banque, la prise de caution et la dette à court terme sont des déterminants du monitoring. De plus, la disponibilité du crédit ex post est associée à de meilleures performances (revenus plus élevés et maîtrise des risques) quand l’accompagnement par la banque implique du monitoring. Cependant les garanties hypothécaires peuvent en réduire la qualité.Banks are the first provider of external finance to young wine-growers. This article deals with the interactions among the monitoring and the formal terms of the bank contract (credit availability, collaterals, short term debt). Our empirical tests reveal three determinants of monitoring: ex ante credit availability, personal guarantees and short term debt. Moreover, the ex post credit availability is clearly related to a better performance when there is monitoring than when there is not. However, land mortgage may reduce the monitoring effectiveness

Forces exerted on a cylinder in near-axial flow

International audienceThis study investigates the flow around a cylinder in a near-axial flow at a Reynolds number of 27,000. Both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations and experiments are performed. Time-mean values of lift force coefficient are investigated against the inclination of the cylinder in the domain of low inclinations (<15 deg). A pressure distribution and flow profiles are also measured and extracted from the CFD calculation results for a characteristic inclination α = 5 deg. Numerical results for force and pressure show fair agreement with experiments for inclination below 5 deg and reveal that at low angles, the lift force is proportional to the angle. In the framework of a quasi-static approach, the instantaneous damping force exerted on a cylinder oscillating in axial flow is equivalent to the normal force exerted on a cylinder placed in an oblique flow

Les effets de l’intégration verticale sur les revenus et les performances financières en viticulture française

Cet article a pour objectif de présenter l’impact de l’intégration verticale sur les revenus et les performances financières des exploitations viticoles. Dans ce but, les auteurs ont croisé les données du Réseau d’information comptable agricole (RICA) et du Casier viticole informatisé (CVI) pour établir une typologie des exploitations selon les volumes de raisin livrés à la coopérative, de vin vendu en vrac et de bouteilles produites. Ils présentent l’effet multiplicateur de l’intégration verticale sur la production et les revenus, puis l’impact de l’intégration verticale sur les performances financières moyennes. Leurs résultats sont cohérents avec la tendance des exploitations à abandonner les degrés intermédiaires d’intégration verticale (Traversac et al., 2007), soit en se spécialisant dans l’activité viticole, soit en achevant le processus d’intégration par la mise en marché de vins conditionnés en bouteilles.In this article, the authors present the impact of vertical integration on the incomes and financial performances of wine farms. They mobilize in this aim data resulting from the merging of two databases, the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) and the Casier Viticole Informatisé (CVI), to establish a typology of wine farms according to (i) the volumes of grapes delivered to the cooperative, (ii) the volume of wine sold in bulk and (iii) the volume sold in bottles. They present the multiplying effect of vertical integration on farm incomes, using the farms specialized in grape production as reference points. Then they present the impact of vertical integration on average financial performances. The results  are consistent with the trend to bipolarization of wine farms towards grape production or full vertical integration via the sale of wine in bottles (Traversac et al., 2007)

Severe ACTA1-related nemaline myopathy: intranuclear rods, cytoplasmic bodies, and enlarged perinuclear space as characteristic pathological features on muscle biopsies.

peer reviewedNemaline myopathy (NM) is a muscle disorder with broad clinical and genetic heterogeneity. The clinical presentation of affected individuals ranges from severe perinatal muscle weakness to milder childhood-onset forms, and the disease course and prognosis depends on the gene and mutation type. To date, 14 causative genes have been identified, and ACTA1 accounts for more than half of the severe NM cases. ACTA1 encodes α-actin, one of the principal components of the contractile units in skeletal muscle. We established a homogenous cohort of ten unreported families with severe NM, and we provide clinical, genetic, histological, and ultrastructural data. The patients manifested antenatal or neonatal muscle weakness requiring permanent respiratory assistance, and most deceased within the first months of life. DNA sequencing identified known or novel ACTA1 mutations in all. Morphological analyses of the muscle biopsy specimens showed characteristic features of NM histopathology including cytoplasmic and intranuclear rods, cytoplasmic bodies, and major myofibrillar disorganization. We also detected structural anomalies of the perinuclear space, emphasizing a physiological contribution of skeletal muscle α-actin to nuclear shape. In-depth investigations of the nuclei confirmed an abnormal localization of lamin A/C, Nesprin-1, and Nesprin-2, forming the main constituents of the nuclear lamina and the LINC complex and ensuring nuclear envelope integrity. To validate the relevance of our findings, we examined muscle samples from three previously reported ACTA1 cases, and we identified the same set of structural aberrations. Moreover, we measured an increased expression of cardiac α-actin in the muscle samples from the patients with longer lifespan, indicating a potential compensatory effect. Overall, this study expands the genetic and morphological spectrum of severe ACTA1-related nemaline myopathy, improves molecular diagnosis, highlights the enlargement of the perinuclear space as an ultrastructural hallmark, and indicates a potential genotype/phenotype correlation

Atomic Layer Deposition of 2D Metal Dichalcogenides for Electronics, Catalysis, Energy Storage, and Beyond

2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are among the most exciting materials of today. Their layered crystal structures result in unique and useful electronic, optical, catalytic, and quantum properties. To realize the technological potential of TMDCs, methods depositing uniform films of controlled thickness at low temperatures in a highly controllable, scalable, and repeatable manner are needed. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a chemical gas-phase thin film deposition method capable of meeting these challenges. In this review, the applications evaluated for ALD TMDCs are systematically examined, including electronics and optoelectonics, electrocatalysis and photocatalysis, energy storage, lubrication, plasmonics, solar cells, and photonics. This review focuses on understanding the interplay between ALD precursors and deposition conditions, the resulting film characteristics such as thickness, crystallinity, and morphology, and ultimately device performance. Through rational choice of precursors and conditions, ALD is observed to exhibit potential to meet the varying requirements of widely different applications. Beyond the current state of ALD TMDCs, the future prospects, opportunities, and challenges in different applications are discussed. The authors hope that the review aids in bringing together experts in the fields of ALD, TMDCs, and various applications to eventually realize industrial applications of ALD TMDCs.Peer reviewe

Collateral, bank monitoring and firm performance: the case of newly established wine farmers

The present study aims to learn how collateral affects firm performance in the case of newly established wine producers. The issue is to identify the effects of collateral in situations of asymmetric information when the bank is the main financial partner of the entrepreneurs involved. On the one hand, the use of collateral may reduce the risk of overinvestment by entrepreneurs and thereby reduce the risk of repayment default. On the other hand, collateral may induce bad performance linked to a reduced monitoring of the investments by the bank. We herein test both hypotheses in two different cases: when the bank monitors the investments and when the bank does not