Linking poverty, natural resources, and financial markets: a model of land use by rural households in El Salvador

This paper posits that deforestation and poverty levels are related through an inverted-U shape --the environmental Kuznets-- curve and that access to credit shifts this curve downwards, thus positively impacting natural resource uses. This hypothesis is tested using a household panel data set from El Salvador.Land Economics/Use,

Safety and Security: An Effort to Lessen Trauma in Pediatrics Through Clothing

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111685/1/maldonjo_1429821749.pd

The Effects of Developed Country Equity Markets on Developing Country Trading Partner Growth

This dissertation consists of three chapters, focusing on the effects that developed countries have on their developing country trading partners with the consideration of macroeconomic variables. In Chapter I, I explore the differences in the drivers and the corresponding magnitude effects on domestic real stock returns during fixed and floating exchange rate regimes. In Chapter II, the equity developed market effects on domestic real stock returns is determined during the pre- and post-great recession periods under floating exchange rate regimes. Chapter III summarizes the findings and provides concluding remarks regarding the benefits and disadvantages in adopting a floating exchange rate regime and the effects of monetary policy on developing countries during pre- and post-great recession periods during floating exchange rate regimes. In Chapter I, through the use of a basic VAR, impulse response functions, and variance decompositions on developing country real stock returns, I find that external developed country equity markets strongly influence the domestic returns as the primary indicator during both fixed and floating exchange rate regimes, while trade is irrelevant. More importantly, the developing country annual stock returns during floating regimes prove to be greater than that for the fixed regimes. Even though domestic equity market volatility is greater during the floating exchange rate period, it is not considerable enough to merit a developing countries’ reluctance to adopt a floating exchange rate regime. These results favor the attraction for developing countries to adopt a floating exchange rate regime, a move toward a market-oriented economy, contrary to some researchers. Monetary policy as outlined by the Mundell-Fleming Theory is ineffective for developing countries during their floating exchange rate regime periods. Extended research regarding the degree of influence of the theoretical assumptions is suggested. In Chapter II, I examine the differences in the primary indicators and magnitudes of influence in explaining changes in domestic developing country real stock returns during the pre- and post-great recession periods, herein referred to as pre- and post-crisis periods. The study is conducted during floating exchange rate regimes, allowing countries an equal benefit in adjusting monetary policy as an economic stabilization tool. The primary driver during both the pre- and post-crisis periods is the external and exogenous developed country equity market with a strong influence of 24.72 and 26.33 percent, for the pre- and post-crisis periods, respectively. These findings support the premise that financial channels and not trading channels are more important in crisis recovery. The developed countries show to have rebounded from the recession, with annual returns of 9.94 percent and 10.80 percent for the pre-crisis and post-crisis periods, respectively. During the pre-crisis period, the developing countries experienced annual returns of 68.52 percent, but have yet to fully rebound with a post-crisis mean annual return of 8.16 percent. As expected, the developed countries have rebounded quicker than the developing countries, suggesting an asymmetric affect based on country development with the developing countries absorbing a much greater initial adverse effect on returns. Post-crisis, the developed and developing country equity markets are experiencing a positive 1.61 and 1.54 slope trend on returns, respectively, representing a common or near common recovery rate. During the post-recession period, the annual stock returns, for the developed and developing countries are 10.80 percent and 11.84 percent, respectively. Thereby confirming the common, or near common recovery rate. In Chapter III, I summarize the dissertation findings and provide concluding remarks on research expansion. Emerging countries continue to grow and increase in their contribution to the world economy. With the tendency of developing countries moving toward increased exchange rate flexibility, they are automatically drawn into the integrated world economy in terms of trade of good and services, and financial transactions. I provide evidence that the benefits associated with a floating exchange rate regime for a developing country is greater than maintaining a fixed exchange rate regime. These findings benefit both researchers and investors in their decision-making process. I provide evidence that the benefits associated with an adoption of a floating exchange rate regime provide an incremental increase in economic control through monetary policy. These findings benefit both researchers and investors in their decision-making process as developing countries continue to move toward an equity market-based economy and positively effecting the global economy

Does Scarcity Exacerbate the Tragedy of the Commons? Evidence from Fishers´ Experimental Responses

Economic Experimental Games (EEGs), focused to analyze dilemmas associated with the use of common pool resources, have shown that individuals make extraction decisions that deviate from the suboptimal Nash equilibrium. However, few studies have analyzed whether these deviations towards the social optimum are affected as the stock of resource changes. Performing EEG with local fishermen, we test the hypothesis that the behavior of participants differs under a situation of abundance versus one of scarcity. Our findings show that under a situation of scarcity, players over-extract agiven resource, and thus make decisions above the Nash equilibrium; in doing so, they obtain less profit, mine the others-regarding interest, and exacerbate the tragedy of the commons. This result challenges previous findings from the EEG literature. Whenindividuals face abundance of a given resource, however, they deviate downward from the prediction of individualistic behavior. The phenomenon of private, inefficient overexploitation is corrected when management strategies are introduced into the game, something that underlines the importance of institutions.tragedy of the commons intensified, economic experimental games,resource abundance, resource scarcity, dynamic effects

Co-Management Strategy for the Sustainable use of Coral Reef Resources in the National Natural Park "Corales del Rosario y San Bernardo" in Colombia

The National Natural Park "Corales del Rosario y San Bernardo", located in the Caribbean Sea, is one of the most important parks in Colombia since it hosts high biological biodiversity, receives more tourists than any other natural park in the country and provides sustenance to several communities settled in and around it. However, lack of governance and incompatibility of incentives among authorities, communities and visitors threaten its conservation and sustainability. Using experimental economic games with fisherman communities, we tested different rules related with the management of natural resources in the protected area. In addition to standard rules of communication and external regulation, we tested a rule called co-management, in which we explored the complementarities between repeated communication and external non-coercive authority intervention. We also tested inter temporal effects where over extraction (by the group) in a round reduces the availability of resource for next round and, in consequence, increases effort and reduces benefits for fishers. Results confirmed the effectiveness of communication and, to some extent, external regulation. More important than that, co-management treatment exhibit no matter the location of the communities with respect to the park- the best results in terms of sustainable use of the resource. Participants incorporated dynamic implications in their decisions when information asymmetries were overcome, through internal communication or external guidance. These results highlight the importance of resource management designs that recognize communities as key actors in decision making for the sustainable use and conservation of common pool resources in protected areas.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

THE INFLUENCE OF MICROFINANCE ON THE EDUCATION DECISIONS OF RURAL HOUSEHOLDS: EVIDENCE FROM BOLIVIA

There is debate about measurement of impact and achievement of expected results of rural microfinance programs in LDCs. The paper addresses these issues using survey household data from Bolivia. Regression models examine the determinants of education outcomes for microfinance clients. The results challenge usual assumptions in program design.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Does scarcity exacerbate the tragedy of the commons? Evidence from fishers’ experimental responses

Economic Experimental Games (EEG) have challenged the theoretical prediction showing that individuals balance own and collective interests when making decisions that deviate away from suboptimal Nash equilibrium. However, few studies have analyzed whether these deviations from Nash equilibrium towards social optimum are affected as the stock of resource changes. Performing EEG with real fishers we test the hypothesis that behavior of participants –measured as relative deviations from Nash equilibrium- differs under a situation of abundance versus a situation of scarcity. The design of our EEG is based on a profit maximization model that incorporates intertemporal effects of aggregated extraction. Our findings show that in a situation of scarcity, players over extract the resource making decisions above the Nash equilibrium, obtaining less profit, mining the others-regarding interest, and exacerbating the tragedy of the commons. This result challenges previous general findings from the EEG literature. When individuals face abundance of the resource, however, they deviate downward from the individualistic and myopic behavior prediction. This phenomenon of private inefficient over exploitation is corrected when management strategies are introduced in the game, which underlines the importance of institutions.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Can Co-Management Improve the Governance of A Common- Pool Resource? Lessons From A Framed Field Experiment in A Marine Protected Area in the Colomb

Complexities associated with the management of common pool resources (CPR)threaten governance at some marine protected areas (MPA). In this paper, using economic experimental games (EEG), we investigate the effects of both external regulation and the complementarities between internal regulation and non-coercive authority intervention-what we call co-management-on fishermen´s extraction decisions. We perform EEG with fishermen inhabiting the influence zone of an MPA in the Colombian Caribbean. The results show that co- management exhibits the best results, both in terms of resource sustainability and reduction in extraction, highlighting the importance of strategies that recognize communities as key actors in the decision-making process for the sustainable use and conservation of CPR in protected areas.Common-pool resources, governance, co-management, experimental economic games, fisheries, Latin America

Herbert Gintis, Samuel Bowles, Robert Boyd y Ernst Fehr (Eds.): Moral Sentiments and Material Interests: The Foundations of Cooperation in Economic Life. MIT Press, Cambridge, 2005

Sin resume

Yochai Benkler: The Wealth of Networks. How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2006

Sin resume