Credit constraints and investment behavior in Mexico's rural economy

This paper uses two recently completed surveys of individual entrepreneurs (farmers and microentrepreneurs) and registered enterprises (agricultural and nonagricultural) operating in Mexico’s rural sector to provide new evidence about the factors influencing the incidence of credit constraints and investment behavior. To measure the incidence of credit constraints, the authors use self-reported information on whether economic agents have a demand for loans, separating formal and informal markets. They define credit constraints as a situation where rural agents report an unsatisfied demand for loans (formal or informal), which originates from rural agents having projects that are too risky or from impediments hindering the ability of rural agents and lenders to reduce information asymmetries. The authors find that the self-reported demand for loans is low. Nevertheless, the incidence of credit constraints is pervasive, especially among individual entrepreneurs. The low use of loans has consequences for the amount of investments that occur in the rural economy, posing a major obstacle to Mexico’s convergence towards its NAFTA partners. The empirical analysis, which includes proxies of business prospects and creditworthiness, shows that improving the availability of loans to credit constrained agents would increase the number of agents making investments and their investment to capital ratios.Access to Finance,,Debt Markets,Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress,Banks&Banking Reform

Smallanthus sonchifolius (Yacon) leaves: an emerging source of compounds for diabetes management

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease that develops mainly due to insulin deficiency or resistance to insulin action. All forms of diabetes are characterized by chronic hyperglycemia, which has an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. Leaves of Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poepp.&Endl.) H. Robinson (yacon) have been used since ancient times to prepare medicinal herbal tea with beneficial health properties. This review aims to discuss some key aspects related to the potential use of S. sonchifolius leaves and their natural biomolecules for the prophylaxis and treatment of diabetes as well as the potential mechanisms of action.Fil: Honore, Stella Maris. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Genta, Susana Beatriz de Fátima. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez, Sara Serafina del V.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; Argentin

Foreign bank entry - experience, implications for developing countries, and agenda for further research

In recent years, foreign bank participation has increased tremendously in several developing countries. In Argentina, Chile, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, for example, more than fifty percent of banking assets are now in foreign-controlled banks. In Asia, Africa, The Middle East, and the former Soviet Union, the rate of entry by foreign banks has been slower, but the trend is similar. Although the number of countries welcoming foreign banks is growing, many questions about foreign bank entry are still being debated, including: 1) What draws foreign banks to a country? 2) Which banks expand abroad? 3) What do foreign banks do once they arrive? 4) How does the mode of a bank's entry - for example, as a branch of its parent, or as an independent subsidiary company - affect its behavior? The authors summarize current knowledge on these issues. In addition, since the existing literature focuses heavily on industrial countries, they put forth an agenda for further study of the effects of foreign bank entry in developing countries.Financial Intermediation,Banks&Banking Reform,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Banking Law,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Banking Law,Municipal Financial Management

Biología del teocintle y efectos de la competencia con el maíz

En las últimas dos décadas el teocintle [Zea mays L. ssp. Mexicana (Schrad.) lltis] ha contribuido a la disminución del potencial de rendimiento de grano en maíz (Zea mays L.) en el Estado de México, México. Este estudio se hizo en condiciones de secano en los ciclos agrícolas primavera-verano de 2008, 2009 y 2010 en San Mateo Otzacatipan, municipio de Toluca, Estado de México con el objetivo de evaluar las interrelaciones entre H-50, Ixtlahuaca y Criollo San Mateo sembrados con 0, 2, 3, 4 y 5 semillas de teocintle por mata. Se usó un diseño experimental de bloques completos al azar con tres repeticiones y el análisis de los datos a través de los años se hizo como una serie de experimentos en tiempo. El mayor rendimiento de grano se registró en el Criollo (4189 kg ha-1); éste fue sobresaliente en altura de planta (3.0 m), altura de mazorca (1.60 m), longitud de mazorca (14.39 cm), granos por hilera (28.73), peso de la mazorca (138.6 g) y peso de grano por mazorca (121.9 g). Las densidades de población de teocintle afectaron significativamente a 18 de las 28 variables evaluadas; al incrementarse ésta hubo una disminución en los rendimientos de grano por mazorca y por ha en maíz (de 122.2 a 97.81 g, y de 4504 a 3283 kg ha-1); el mejor año fue 2008 ya que los rendimientos fueron de 146.82 g y 5129 kg ha-1

Ensanche y mejora de la LV-3021 en Artesa de Segre (LLeida)

Este proyecto trata el ensanche y la mejora de la vía LV-3021, carretera de orden local situada en la provincia de Lleida, próxima al Municipio de Artesa de Segre. Se trata de una vía de doble sentido a una velocidad máxima de 80km/h. El trazado tiene una longitud total de 6,6 kilómetros. En primer lugar y mediante métodos de medición GPS se han obtenido las coordenadas UTM de las bases topográficas insertadas. A continuación, se ha realizado el levantamiento topográfico de la zona a escala 1:1000. Tras la toma de puntos de campo se ha obtenido el curvado del terreno. Una vez representado el terreno de la zona en formato digital se ha realizado el diseño del nuevo trazado mediante el programa ISTRAM ISPOL. Por un lado se ha proyectado una glorieta partida que sirve como enlace entre la comarcal C-14 y la LV-3021. En el otro enlace, también con la comarcal C- 14, se ha efectuado una reforma del mismo. Además se ha reproyectado todo el trazado, ensanchando los carriles y suavizando las curvas y los cambios de rasante. Mediante estudios de visibilidad se han impuesto las velocidades pertinentes (Vmax 80km/h) en cada tramo de la vía. Se ha utilizado señalización vertical con reducción de velocidad en los tramos necesarios. Se han calculado los perfiles del terreno y se han obtenido los datos de movimientos de tierras. Con los datos obtenidos de Istram, se han elaborado los planos con Autocad y por último se ha redactado la memoria e incorporado los anejos. Planos: - PLANTA GENERAL - PLANTA TOPOGRÁFICO - ALINEACIONES EN PLANTA - PLANTA TRAZADO - PERFIL LONGITUDINAL - PERFILES TRANSVERSALES - SEÑALIZACIÓN Y DRENAJE

Bank lending to small businesses in Latin America : does Bank origin matter?

In recent years foreign bank participation has increased tremendously in Latin America. Some observers argue that foreign bank entry will benefit Latin American banking systems by reducing the volatility of loans and deposits and increasing efficiency. Others are concerned that foreign banks might choose to extend credit only to certain customers, leaving some sectors-such as small businesses-unserved. The authors examine this issue. Using bank-level data for Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru during the mid-1990s, they empirically investigate whether bank origin affects the share and growth rate of bank lending to small businesses. They find that although foreign banks generally lent less to small businesses (as share of total lending) than private domestic banks, the difference is due primarily to the behavior of small foreign banks. The difference was considerably smaller for large and medium-sized banks. And in Chile and Colombia, large foreign banks might actually lend slightly more (as share of total lending) than large domestic banks.Financial Intermediation,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Economic Theory&Research,Banking Law

WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES AMONG SLASH-AND-BURN FARMERS IN THE PERUVIAN AMAZON: IMPLICATIONS FOR DEFORESTATION AND GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETS

A Contingent Valuation survey shows that the possibility of trade in carbon sequestration services exists between utility companies and slash-and-burn farmers in the Amazon and that farmers positively value the environmental services of the forest. Global environmental markets could enhance the effectiveness of traditional forest conservation efforts while benefitting resource-poor farmers.Environmental Economics and Policy,