Theeconomic and technical factors involved in using geothermal energy at Ahuachapan are examined. The experience at Ahuachapan is evaluated in relation to conditions prevailing in El Salvador and to conditions in the U.S. technical characteristics considered are: geological characteristics, well...

The Earth Sciences Division of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) is conducting a reservoir evaluation study of the Ahuachapan geothermal field in El Salvador. This work is being performed in cooperation with the Comision Ejecutiva Hidroelectrica del Rio Lempa (CEL) and the Los Alamos National...

The global agricultural economy is changing. Commodity prices are declining, andproducers increasingly supply complex value chains. There is growing interest in how farmerscan benefit from emerging market opportunities. Farmers are encouraged to produce high valuecrops and engage in value-adding...

To be competitive in the global economy, some argue that Latin American countries need to reduce or eliminate labor market regulations such as minimum wage legislation because they constrain job creation and hence increase poverty. On the other hand, minimum wage increases can have a direct...

Taking advantage of a complex minimum wage structure in Honduras, this paper examines how changes in minimum wages over the 1990-2004 period affect unemployment as well as the employment and average wages of workers in different sectors of the economy: medium and large-scale firms v. small firms...

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Argentinien erlebte in der Jahren 2001 und 2002 die schwerste Wirtschaftskrise seiner jüngeren Geschichte. Doch auch diese schwere Krise war nur Teil eines Jahrzehnte alten Entwicklungsmusters. In seinem Verlauf führten chronische Inflation, Leistungsbilanzprobleme, Produktivitätsmängel und...

The small-scale pepper producers in the El Roble settlement Costa Rica face a monopsonistic market. Only one processing firm is buying the fresh pepper bunches. The processor has all bargaining power to decide on the price paid to the farmers and the quality selection criteria. The rejection...

Costa Rica has been successful in attracting high-tech foreign direct investment (FDI). An aggressive FDI-assisted development strategy was pursued by the country in the 1980s as a response to the economic crisis; yet there are serious concerns about the effectiveness of such strategy from a...

This paper presents an analysis of the contribution of some institutional innovations to a more inclusive growth in the coffee and the palm oil sectors. The paper presents an historical approach, considering the concepts of growth and sustainable development, but specially the notion of...