Does Microfinance Form a Distinctive Asset Class? Preliminary Evidence

Microfinance is arguably one of the most effective techniques for poverty alleviation in developing countries. Although traditionally supported by nongovernmental organizations and socially-oriented investors, microfinance has increasingly demonstrated its value on a stand-alone basis, typically exhibiting low default rates combined with attractive returns, encouraging greater commercial involvement. This paper addresses a related issue whether microfinance represents a distinct financial asset class, thereby forming the basis for access to global capital markets and performance-driven investors in their search for efficient portfolios. Our empirical tests generally show very low correlations between the performance of microfinance institutions and global and national market performance measures, suggesting that microfinance portfolios may constitute a distinct asset class that can have useful portfolio diversification value

Can Microfinance Reduce Portfolio Volatility?

Microfinance is arguably one of the most effective techniques for poverty alleviation in developing countries. Although traditionally supported by nongovernmental organizations and socially-oriented investors, microfinance institutions (MFIs) have increasingly demonstrated their value on a stand-alone basis, typically exhibiting low default rates combined with attractive returns and growth, encouraging greater commercial involvement. This paper addresses a related issue – whether microfinance shows low correlation with international and domestic market performance measures. If so, it could form the empirical basis for MFI access to capital markets and performance-driven investors in their search for efficient portfolios. Our empirical tests do not show any exposure of microfinance institutions to global capital markets, but significant exposure regarding domestic GDP, suggesting that microfinance investments may have useful portfolio diversification value for international investors, not for domestic investors lacking significant country risk diversification options

Does Microfinance Form a Distinctive Asset Class? Preliminary Evidence

Microfinance is arguably one of the most effective techniques for poverty alleviation in developing countries. Although traditionally supported by nongovernmental organizations and socially-oriented investors, microfinance has increasingly demonstrated its value on a stand-alone basis, typically exhibiting low default rates combined with attractive returns, encouraging greater commercial involvement. This paper addresses a related issue whether microfinance represents a distinct financial asset class, thereby forming the basis for access to global capital markets and performance-driven investors in their search for efficient portfolios. Our empirical tests generally show very low correlations between the performance of microfinance institutions and global and national market performance measures, suggesting that microfinance portfolios may constitute a distinct asset class that can have useful portfolio diversification value

Can Microfinance Reduce Portfolio Volatility?

Microfinance is arguably one of the most effective techniques for poverty alleviation in developing countries. Although traditionally supported by nongovernmental organizations and socially-oriented investors, microfinance institutions (MFIs) have increasingly demonstrated their value on a stand-alone basis, typically exhibiting low default rates combined with attractive returns and growth, encouraging greater commercial involvement. This paper addresses a related issue – whether microfinance shows low correlation with international and domestic market performance measures. If so, it could form the empirical basis for MFI access to capital markets and performance-driven investors in their search for efficient portfolios. Our empirical tests do not show any exposure of microfinance institutions to global capital markets, but significant exposure regarding domestic GDP, suggesting that microfinance investments may have useful portfolio diversification value for international investors, not for domestic investors lacking significant country risk diversification options

Efficacy of natural fatty acid based herbicides on mixed weed stands

In the search for alternatives to synthetic herbicides we assessed the efficacy of 2 non-selective, natural products. The active substances were fatty acids: one herbicide containing pelargonic acid (C9) and the other containing caprylic (C8) and capric acids (C10). The aim of the study was to determine the dose required to achieve this range of efficacy (ED80) for weed stands with different canopy heights and densities. 2 trials were carried out. Weed stand height varied between 0.05 m (trial 2) and 0.25-0.35 m (trial 1). The herbicides were applied with a logsprayer on plots of 43.5 m2. Dose-response curves were calculated using green weed coverage determined by image analyses as response variable. The ED80 increased with increasing weed canopy height: from 0.9 to 1.7 of the standard dose (n) for the caprylic and capric acid containing product and from 0.7 n to 1.7 n for the pelargonic acid containing product. In conclusion, acceptable efficacies can be achieved if the herbicides are applied on young weed stages. For larger weeds the dose, spray volume and application technology need to be further adjusted. These herbicides could be used for the stale seedbed technique, crop pre-emergence or inter-row applications. Nevertheless, the relatively high price of these natural herbicides limits their broader use

Neurobat, a Predictive and Adaptive Heating Control System Using Artificial Neural Networks

The paper describes a predictive and adaptive heating controller, using artificial neural networks to allow the adaptation of the control model to the real conditions (climate, building characteristics, user's behaviour). The controller algorithm has been developed and tested as a collaborative project between the CSEM (Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, project leader), and the LESO-PB (Solar Energy and Building Physics Laboratory, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland). A significant support has been provided by leading Swiss industries in control systems. The project itself has been funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE). The project has allowed the development of an original algorithm, especially suited for water heating systems, and its testing both by simulation and by experimentation on an inhabited building. The experimentation has been done using a PC software implementation. A second phase of the project, currently going on, aims at building a commercial system based on the NEUROBAT algorithm

Light localization induced enhancement of third order nonlinearities in a GaAs photonic crystal waveguide

Nonlinear propagation experiments in GaAs photonic crystal waveguides (PCW) were performed, which exhibit a large enhancement of third order nonlinearities, due to light propagation in a slow mode regime, such as two-photon absorption (TPA), optical Kerr effect and refractive index changes due to TPA generated free-carriers. A theoretical model has been established that shows very good quantitative agreement with experimental data and demonstrates the important role that group velocity plays. These observations give a strong insight into the use of PCWs for optical switching devices.Comment: 6 page