This paper studies the reasons behind the export performance of different Mexican states from 1994 to 2002. Mexican exports are divided into two components: (1) foreign market potential; and (2) supply capacity. Results suggest that states that experience an increase in supply capacity are, in...

This paper is the first to draw a global picture of worldwide microfinance equity by taking full advantage of daily quoted prices. We revisit previous findings showing that investors should consider microfinance as a self-standing sector. Our results are threefold. First, microfinance has become...

Clustering of economic performance and growth in space has generated considerable research on the spillovers and linkages among geographical neighbours. In this paper, we study the growth process of a large sample of Brazilian municipalities for the period 1970-1996 and attempt to evaluate the...

This paper estimates the degree of trade integration between Brazilian states and the magnitude of barriers faced by their exporters in the 1990s. Using the border effects methodology, we show that the Brazilian market remains highly fragmented, although integration is increasing. In 1991 an...

The purpose of this article is to analyse the efficiency of the repayment incentive mechanisms used for individual microcredit, the guarantor mechanism in particular. Little academic research has been devoted to this instrument whereas it is very frequently used. Churchill (1999) notably...

We estimate the degree of trade integration among Brazilian states and calculate the magnitude of the Brazilian states' engagement in international trade in the years 1991, 1997, 1998 and 1999 using the methodology of border effects. We show that the Brazilian market is rather highly fragmented...

Increasing block tariffs seek a cross-subsidy mechanism between the water network users, based on the common assumption of weak water price elasticity. In Manaus, the capital city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas where most of the 1.6 million dwellers are supplied through the municipal water...