Is there income mobility in the Philippines?

Despite a more robust economic performance over the past decade compared with the 1980s and 1990s, growth in average household income is still far below what might be expected given the pace of economic expansion in the Philippines. Inequality of household income has also remained high, which leads to the question: is there income mobility in the Philippines? Using longitudinal data from three years of the redesigned Philippine Family Income and Expenditure Survey (2003, 2006, and 2009) and a variety of analytical tools, we examine the mobility of Filipino household income and show that it is less stagnant than is conventionally perceived. Empirical evidence suggests that significant positive and negative mobility exists; albeit, the two tend to offset each other, contributing to slow household income growth at the aggregate level. In addition, there is some evidence that transitory fluctuations contribute significantly to the observed level of income mobility. Overall, the findings are robust across different analytical tools used in measuring income mobility.     

Poisoned,Dispossessed and Excluded: A Critique of the Neoliberal Soy Regime in Paraguay

This paper challenges the recent hailing of agricultural biotechnology as a panacea for food insecurity and rural poverty in countries of the global South. Based on an empirical investigation of the neoliberal soy regime in Paraguay, I document how the profound transformation of this country's agricultural mode of production over the past two decades, spurred by the neoliberal restructuring of agriculture and the biorevolution, has jeopardized rural livelihoods. In particular, I demonstrate how the transgenic soyization of Paraguay's agriculture has led to an increased concentration of landholdings, as well as the displacement and disempowerment of peasants and rural labourers who have been rendered surplus to the requirements of agribusiness capital. At the same time, the consolidation of this new agro‐industrial model has fostered a growing dependence on agrochemicals that compromise environmental quality and human health. Thus, I argue, a development policy based on industrial monocropping of genetically modified (GM) soy is inappropriate, unsustainable and unethical.     

The complex reality of biodiversity conservation through Natural Protected Area policy: Three cases from the Yucatan Peninsula,Mexico

The federal policy of Natural Protected Areas has become the main instrument for conserving biodiversity in Mexico. Established in territories representative of different ecosystems but also of cultural diversity, protected areas in Mexico have historically been created and managed with a centralized rationale, creating several conflicts with local communities over the use of natural resources. The country's approach to protected areas perfectly illustrates the complexities, difficulties and challenges entailed in biodiversity conservation. This paper develops a critical analysis of this policy instrument in Mexico, and analyzes three Natural Protected Areas in the Yucatan Peninsula: The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, the Celestún Biosphere Reserve, and the Otoch Ma’ax Yetel Kooh Natural Protected Area. The case studies serve as examples of the most common difficulties that arise in Mexican Natural Protected Area policy: (1) uncoordinated public policies; (2) the usual conflict between environmental authorities and local people over the management of natural resources; and (3) the exclusion of local people's perspectives, values and beliefs in conservation policy development and implementation.     

Reversing deforestation? Bioenergy and society in two Brazilian models

Year after year, the deforestation rates in Brazil are alarming and this country is one of largest consumers of biomass energy in the world. In order to respond to this scenario, Brazil has developed a vast forest potential that, by the other hand, has attracted the attention of environmental groups that struggle to reduce the establishment of large-scale exotic species plantations. To respond to both pressures (the productive and environmental), the non-governmental and the private sectors have developed two innovative and independent forms of social participation for addressing this matter. The non-governmental sector created the Forest Replacement Associations and the private companies created the Small-Farmers Forest Partners Program. An overview and an analysis of both models is presented here.     

Investment and marketing strategies of Mexican companies in the United States: Preliminary evidence

Because of its geographic proximity to the United States and its favored position as a member of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexico has become an emerging player in the global marketplace, and this new position has motivated several Mexican companies to establish businesses in the United States. Attempts have been made to explain why Mexican firms have become global players, explanations that focus on several national and international factors. However, these factors omit important drivers of the process, including entry and marketing strategies. This study aims to 1) give an account of how and why Mexican companies enter the United States, and 2) identify some tendencies in the way U.S. subsidiaries of Mexican companies develop and use marketing strategies to serve U.S. markets. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

UTILITY MAXIMIZATION IN AN INSIDER INFLUENCED MARKET

We study a controlled stochastic system whose state is described by a stochastic differential equation with anticipating coefficients. This setting is used to model markets where insiders have some influence on the dynamics of prices. We give a characterization theorem for the optimal logarithmic portfolio of an investor with a different information flow from that of the insider. We provide explicit results in the partial information case that we extend in order to incorporate the enlargement of filtration techniques for markets with insiders. Finally, we consider a market with an insider who influences the drift of the underlying price asset process. This example gives a situation where it makes a difference for a small agent to acknowledge the existence of an insider in the market.     

The Impact of Innovation in Small Industrial Operations to Increased Competitiveness： Empirical Evidence

The present research work in the Small and Medium Enterprise （SME） and industrial sector explains the impact of the relationship among innovation in the SME operations of Aguascalientes to find the most competitive one; to this end, a questionnaire was intended for managers where the results have been analyzed using the statistical package Structural Equation Modeling Programs （EQS） support which through structural equations has responded to the objective. In this sense, it can be concluded that innovation has a positive relationship with the operations and in turn, this relationship shows a positive impact on the competitiveness of SMEs in Aguascalientes. For this study, a sample of 150 companies has been used.