Capital market development : whither Latin America ?

Over the past decades, many countries have implemented significant reforms to foster capital market development. Latin American countries were at the forefront of this process. The authors analyze where Latin American capital markets stand after these reforms. They find that despite the intense reform effort, capital markets in Latin America remain underdeveloped relative to markets in other regions. Furthermore, stock markets are below what can be expected, given Latin America's economic and institutional fundamentals. The authors discuss alternative ways of interpreting this evidence. They argue that it is difficult to pinpoint which policies Latin American countries should pursue to overcome their poor capital market development. Moreover, they argue that expectations about the outcome of the reform process may need to be revisited to take into account intrinsic characteristics of emerging economies. The latter may limit the scope for developing deep domestic capital markets in a context of international financial integration.Markets and Market Access,Economic Theory&Research,Access to Markets,Financial Economics,Financial Intermediation

Innovative experiences in access to finance : market friendly roles for the visible hand ?

Interest in access to finance has increased significantly in recent years, as growing evidence suggests that lack of access to credit prevents lower-income households and small firms from financing high return investment projects, having an adverse effect on growth and poverty alleviation. This study describes some recent innovative experiences to broaden access to credit. These experiences are consistent with an emerging new view that recognizes a limited role for the public sector in financial markets, but contends that there might be room for well-designed, restricted interventions in collaboration with the private sector to foster financial development and broaden access. The authors illustrate this view with several recent experiences inLatin America and then discuss some open policy questions about the role of the public and private sectors in driving these financial innovations.Debt Markets,Banks&Banking Reform,,Emerging Markets,Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress

Stock market development under globalization : whither the gains from reforms ?

Over the past decades, many countries have implemented significant reforms to foster domestic capital market development. These reforms included stock market liberalization, privatization programs, and the establishment of regulatory and supervisory frameworks. Despite the intense reform efforts, the performance of capital markets in several countries has been disappointing. To study whether reforms have had the intended effects on capital markets, the authors analyze the impact of six capital market reforms on domestic stock market development and internationalization using event studies. They find that reforms tend to be followed by significant increases in domestic market capitalization, trading, and capital raising. Reforms are also followed by an increase in the share of activity in international equity markets, with potential negative spillover effects on domestic markets.Markets and Market Access,Economic Theory&Research,Access to Markets,Privatization,Corporate Law

Inhibition of the Type I Interferon Antiviral Response During Arenavirus Infection

Arenaviruses merit interest both as tractable experimental model systems to study acute and persistent viral infections, and as clinically-important human pathogens. Several arenaviruses cause hemorrhagic fever (HF) disease in humans. In addition, evidence indicates that the globally-distributed prototypic arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a human pathogen of clinical significance in congenital infections, and also poses a great danger to immunosuppressed individuals. Arenavirus persistence and pathogenesis are facilitated by their ability to overcome the host innate immune response. Mammalian hosts have developed both membrane toll-like receptors (TLR) and cytoplasmic pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that recognize specific pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), resulting in activation of the transcription factors IRF3 or IRF7, or both, which together with NF-κB and ATF-2/c-JUN induce production of type I interferon (IFN-I). IFN-I plays a key role in host anti-microbial defense by mediating direct antiviral effects via up-regulation of IFN-I stimulated genes (ISGs), activating dendritic cells (DCs) and natural killer (NK) cells, and promoting the induction of adaptive responses. Accordingly, viruses have developed a plethora of strategies to disrupt the IFN-I mediated antiviral defenses of the host, and the viral gene products responsible for these disruptions are often major virulence determinants. IRF3- and IRF7-dependent induction of host innate immune responses is frequently targeted by viruses. Thus, the arenavirus nucleoprotein (NP) was shown to inhibit the IFN-I response by interfering with the activation of IRF3. This NP anti-IFN activity, together with alterations in the number and function of DCs observed in mice chronically infected with LCMV, likely play an important role in LCMV persistence in its murine host. In this review we will discuss current knowledge about the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which arenaviruses can subvert the host innate immune response and their implications for understanding HF arenaviral disease as well as arenavirus persistence in their natural hosts

Aspectos generales de la metodología para calculo del Margen Bruto Estándar 2000. Documento de Trabajo de la Cátedra Jean Monnet 3/04. con R. Mora y E. J. de la Torre.

El objetivo de este documento de trabajo es presentar la metodología para el cálculo del Margen Bruto Estándar con periodo de referencia 1999, 2000 y 2001 (MBE 2000) y para el conjunto de categor´ıas agr´ıcolas definidas en el anexo de la Decisi´on de la Comisión 2003/369/CE. En este documento, dichas categorías vienen recogidas en el cuadro 2 del anexo. Este documento de trabajo se divide en tres secciones. En la sección 1 se presenta el marco metodológico general recogido en la legislaci´on comunitaria, prestando especial interés a la definición de MBE. Las secciones 2 y 3 presentan, de forma resumida, la metodología seguida para el cálculo de los coeficientes MBE 2000 de las categorías de cultivos y ganados respectivamente.Gross Standar Margin, Farm Accounting Data Network, Land prices, agricultural productivity, irrigated land, regional specialization.

Borna Disease Virus Blocks Potentiation of Presynaptic Activity through Inhibition of Protein Kinase C Signaling

Infection by Borna disease virus (BDV) enables the study of the molecular mechanisms whereby a virus can persist in the central nervous system and lead to altered brain function in the absence of overt cytolysis and inflammation. This neurotropic virus infects a wide variety of vertebrates and causes behavioral diseases. The basis of BDV-induced behavioral impairment remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated whether BDV infection of neurons affected synaptic activity, by studying the rate of synaptic vesicle (SV) recycling, a good indicator of synaptic activity. Vesicular cycling was visualized in cultured hippocampal neurons synapses, using an assay based on the uptake of an antibody directed against the luminal domain of synaptotagmin I. BDV infection did not affect elementary presynaptic functioning, such as spontaneous or depolarization-induced vesicular cycling. In contrast, infection of neurons with BDV specifically blocked the enhancement of SV recycling that is observed in response to stimuli-induced synaptic potentiation, suggesting defects in long-term potentiation. Studies of signaling pathways involved in synaptic potentiation revealed that this blockade was due to a reduction of the phosphorylation by protein kinase C (PKC) of proteins that regulate SV recycling, such as myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS) and Munc18–1/nSec1. Moreover, BDV interference with PKC-dependent phosphorylation was identified downstream of PKC activation. We also provide evidence suggesting that the BDV phosphoprotein interferes with PKC-dependent phosphorylation. Altogether, our results reveal a new mechanism by which a virus can cause synaptic dysfunction and contribute to neurobehavioral disorders

Arte, Arquitectura y Cultura visual

Al pensar la ciudad convergen diversas esferas de conocimiento que abren un abanico de aproximaciones para la comprensión de esta; un lugar desbordado de la experiencia, un territorio en expansión marcado actualmente por el fenómeno de la globalización y la aceleración de la experiencia en todas sus dimensiones. En este sentido, no hemos podido inhibirnos de reflexiones procedentes de la teoría del arte, así como de determinadas consideraciones filosóficas, sociológicas, psicológicas, científicas, históricas, antropológicas y, en definitiva, vitales al ser estas parte consustancial de la pasión que impulsa una cultura visual que pretende hacer visibles los dispositivos y retóricas de legitimación que actúan sobre la urbe como códigos formalizados, y en consecuencia sobre los modos de relación social