Rural Deposit Mobilization in Asia

Domestic resource mobilization is becoming increasingly important in many developing countries because of the problems they are facing in attaining additional foreign resources and aid. But in many countries systematic disincentives must be removed before the full rural deposit mobilization potential can be realized. This paper presents an analysis of rural deposit mobilization in four Asian countries: Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. With the exception of Bangladesh, there is no clear upward trend in share of rural deposits relative to total deposits. Institutions specializing in rural lending appear to mobilize an even smaller share of their total resources than the rest of the banking system. Determinants of savings behavior are discussed considering incentives for both savers and lenders. Administered interest rates are identified as a problem because they often result in negative real rates on deposits for savers while making rediscount and other government funds cheaper for banks/branches than mobilizing deposits. Efforts to expand banks/branches into rural areas have been thwarted by credit policies which make them unviable. Therefore, reforms in interest rates and other financial policies are often a necessary first step in expanding rural deposit mobilization

A Limnological Study of Ricks Pond and the Gulpha Creek Drainage in Garland County, Arkansas

A limnological investigation of Ricks Pond and the Gulpha Creek drainage of Garland County, Arkansas was conducted between 1 June 1978, and 21 August 1978. Water samples taken from ten stations on three different dates indicated that the stream and pond systems were typical in water quality characteristics of other small, high gradient streams and impoundments in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. In Ricks Pond, thermal stratification occurred along with the development of an oxygen deficient zone below a depth of one meter. Other water quality parameters indicated that Ricks Pond is a moderately productive ecosystem, with the productivity limited by the nitrogen species. The fecal coliform bacterial counts were very low, indicating no direct input of excessive amounts of fecal matter into the system during the present study. However, a Hot Springs city sewer line runs through the pond, and two manholes emerge from the pond\u27s surface. The possibility exists that this sewer line could discharge raw sewage into Ricks Pond during periods of high water. A biological investigation was also conducted in the study area, and lists of the phytoplankton, periphyton, higher aquatic vegetation, zooplankton, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fishes are presented. Twenty-seven species of fishes were collected from the Gulpha Creek drainage, and no rare or endangered forms were found. Ricks Pond is best-suited for the establishment of a put- and-take fishery for channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. The following recommendations were made for the establishment of such a fishery: (1) Renovation of the pond by draining and deepening it; (2) Removal of the sewer line from the pond; (3) Stocking of catchable size channel catfish at the rate of approximately 300-400 pounds per acre; (4) Periodic monitoring of the water quality

The World Council of Churches: A Theological Appraisal

Throughout the history of the divided Church there have been earnest efforts to reunite the separated communions. The impetus for such a reunion usually was strongest in a period either of prosperity or of opposition. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Church experienced an era of revivalism and expansion, and shortly the former confessional boundaries were ignored, and in spite of divergent doctrinal views denominations united in organizing the several national Bible Societies and large Missionary Associations. When shortly afterwards a wave of secularism swept over the world, the various communions again set aside their confessional differences and organized the Evangelical Alliance ( 1846) to meet jointly the common foe

The Dilemma of Agricultural Credit Policy in Brazil

Brazilian policy makers have played an active role in agricultural credit policy during the past 25 years. Many rules, regulations, policies and programs have been employed to increase the quantity and reduce the cost of agricultural credit. In some years, the amount of new loans made approached the value of agricultural output. Doubts exist about the extent to which expanded credit supplies accelerated technological change, expanded output and improved rural incomes. Large farmers absorbed a large share of the total credit. Interest rate constraints appear to have contributed to this concentration in credit distribution. The massive amount of subsidies involved in the credit program contributed to a need to reformulate credit and macroeconomic policies in the 1980s. The volume of new loans made subsequently fell sharply. In spite of acre than two decades of government involvement, Brazilian farmers are no closer to having a reliable, self-sustaining supply of agricultural credit today than they did in the early 1960's when the government began its heavy intervention