The authors use individual observations from a panel of families during the period of the peso crisis in Mexico to investigate whether and how labor market shocks, as proxied by changes in the gender- and age-specific unemployment rates in the metropolitan area of the household, affect the...

Developing countries as a group have experienced rapid economic growth in the last three decades: between 1965 and 1990, their gross national product (GNP) per capita grew at an average annual rate of 2.5 percent to reach US$840 in 1990. However, economic performance has been uneven across...

Two sets of issues loom large on the economic horizon of Malawi: poverty alleviation and the country's vulnerability to shocks emanating from the outside world. In this paper, simulations with a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model of Malawi are used to analyze aspects of these issues. Two...

It is possible in France to finance the purchase of a property with a viager in lieu of obtaining a traditional mortgage loan, where the purchase price of the property, or balance of the price if a down payment is made (the bouquet), is converted into an annuity that the buyer agrees to pay for...

Agricultural price volatility is "bad". But where does it come from? Remedies are completely different for "endogenous" or "exogenous" fluctuations. The recent crisis seems to indicate that exogenous remedies have been applied to endogenous fluctuations.

This policy brief reviews evidence and draws lessons regarding the role of microfinance for income and consumption smoothing by the poor, and highlights potential areas for product innovation by the microfinance sector to address the demand for financial services for income and consumption...