This article discusses Root Capital, a nonprofit social investment fund that provides capital and financial training to small rural businesses in Latin America and Africa. Root Capital aims to grow rural prosperity and reduce poverty. It has provided over $320 million in loans to 350 businesses in 30 countries, benefiting over 500,000 small-scale farm households. Root Capital funds its loan portfolio from foundations, corporations, and other impact investors. The article profiles one such investor, The World We Want Foundation, and its leaders' visit to a Root Capital client in Haiti, an organic mango exporter helping farmers access premium markets.
Essays Experts is the only custom writing service that uses ultra modern approaches coupled with thorough training in providing high quality academic writing services. Our services will enable you achieve success and realize your academic dreams. At http://www.essaysexperts.net/ ,we are the best solution for your academic assignments.
2018 State of Hispanic Wealth Report by NAHREP Greater Las Vegas Jesse B. Lucero
WP has released its annual State of Hispanic Wealth Report. The report found that Latinos have experienced four consecutive years of homeownership growth, three straight years of income growth, and the lowest poverty rate since estimates were first published by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1972. Get your copy today!
Our Newsletter. Mexico & Latin America. February 2018.
We help companies to be successful in Mexico & Latam via highly personalized and cost-effective consulting services. Areas of expertise include interim management, CFO/controller roles, special audits, fraud investigations, anti-corruption initiatives, internal control assessments, financial reporting, project management, risk management, strategic planning, financial transformations and turnarounds. On the commercial side, public relations, business development, contract negotiations, communications, social media, and design and execution of commercial strategy.
Essays Experts is the only custom writing service that uses ultra modern approaches coupled with thorough training in providing high quality academic writing services. Our services will enable you achieve success and realize your academic dreams. At http://www.essaysexperts.net/ ,we are the best solution for your academic assignments.
2018 State of Hispanic Wealth Report by NAHREP Greater Las Vegas Jesse B. Lucero
WP has released its annual State of Hispanic Wealth Report. The report found that Latinos have experienced four consecutive years of homeownership growth, three straight years of income growth, and the lowest poverty rate since estimates were first published by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1972. Get your copy today!
Our Newsletter. Mexico & Latin America. February 2018.
We help companies to be successful in Mexico & Latam via highly personalized and cost-effective consulting services. Areas of expertise include interim management, CFO/controller roles, special audits, fraud investigations, anti-corruption initiatives, internal control assessments, financial reporting, project management, risk management, strategic planning, financial transformations and turnarounds. On the commercial side, public relations, business development, contract negotiations, communications, social media, and design and execution of commercial strategy.
December 2010 - Domestic Market: Set to soarFGV Brazil
The Brazilian Economy is one of the oldest publications for expert economic analysis of both the Brazilian and international economies. Through this publication, FGV’s Brazilian Institute of Economics and Finance (FGV/IBRE) compares different periods of the economy, assessing both macroeconomic considerations and scenarios related to finance, administration, marketing, management, insurance, statistics, and price indices.
For more information, and Brazilian economic index results, visit: http://bit.ly/1EA1Loz
one hedge fund manager can pocketed $ 1,3 bio (2014)!
This reminded me of a famous Wall Street joke – about a visitor to New York who admired the gorgeous yachts of the richest bankers and brokers. After gazing long and thoughtfully at these beautiful boats, the visitor asked wryly: “Where are the customers’ yachts?” Of course, the customers could not afford yachts, even though they dutifully followed the advice of their bankers and brokers.
The Brazilian Economy is one of the oldest publications for expert economic analysis of both the Brazilian and international economies. Through this publication, FGV’s Brazilian Institute of Economics and Finance (FGV/IBRE) compares different periods of the economy, assessing both macroeconomic considerations and scenarios related to finance, administration, marketing, management, insurance, statistics, and price indices.
For more information, and Brazilian economic index results, visit: http://bit.ly/1EA1Loz
The Brazilian Economy is one of the oldest publications for expert economic analysis of both the Brazilian and international economies. Through this publication, FGV’s Brazilian Institute of Economics and Finance (FGV/IBRE) compares different periods of the economy, assessing both macroeconomic considerations and scenarios related to finance, administration, marketing, management, insurance, statistics, and price indices.
For more information, and Brazilian economic index results, visit: http://bit.ly/1EA1Loz
This is the first research note for Brazilintel: a series that will explore the role of Brazil in a new global era. Titled '<strong>Rio2016: More than a coming out party</strong>' it aims to explore the bigger picture behind the win, providing an easy to understand background as to why Brazil has emerged as a global leader and what is at stake moving forward .
To receive the Brazilintel comment series free of charge email<a>LINK_TEXT_HERE</a> and put 'Brazilintel Comment' in the subject line. Contact me directly to discuss your own research needs or to sponsor the series - <a>LINK_TEXT_HERE</a>/ +447843560399
Investors caught off guard by the Great Game’s evolution
stand to lose – on the low end – $1.41 trillion every year from
Wall Street alone.
And billions more could be eradicated from their bank
accounts due to spikes in energy and natural resource prices
– mixed with sharp drops in the U.S. dollar.
Ask yourself: Are you protected?
You don’t want to be left without a chair when the music stops.
As this Global Game unfolds, our entire way of life will
experience a dramatic shift for which very few investors have
prepared http://withDrDavid.com
Here’s a taste of the road ahead for the global economy:
• Coming supply shocks to natural resources – from oil and gas
to grains and rare earth metals – could unleash rampant
inflation that tears through every corner of the world economy.
• Exposure to mounting domestic debt leaves numerous leading
economies vulnerable to mounting geopolitical pressures,
reducing their political influence and driving up interest rates.
• The re-balancing of power between nations could cause
certain currencies to crash, economies to weaken, and
companies to crumble.
Let's have a discussion about capitalism and socialism. This slideshare makes the case that what we need is more capitalism as it is the system that reduces poverty and actually delivers a better overall quality of life. Yes, there are improvements that can be made, but let's have that discussion before we make revolutionary changes that have not worked well in other places.
April 2010 - Competition and credit boomFGV Brazil
The Brazilian Economy is one of the oldest publications for expert economic analysis of both the Brazilian and international economies. Through this publication, FGV’s Brazilian Institute of Economics and Finance (FGV/IBRE) compares different periods of the economy, assessing both macroeconomic considerations and scenarios related to finance, administration, marketing, management, insurance, statistics, and price indices.
For more information, and Brazilian economic index results, visit: http://bit.ly/1EA1Loz
A detailed review of the causes and effects of income inequality. Details on how extreme it is. Citation of many authors suggesting how it came about and what to do about it.
“Of all forms of tyranny, the least attractive and the most vulgar
is the tyranny of mere wealth, the tyranny of a plutocracy.”
Theodore Roosevelt, 1913.
INFOGRAPHIC: The World's Top 20 Billionaires (2015)Dario Suveljak
This infographic shows “Crème de la crème” - the very top of the 20 richest people in the World - their net worth, demographic stats and how they utilize their wealth for public good. This is the story about the richest people in the world...
The Brazilian Economy is one of the oldest publications for expert economic analysis of both the Brazilian and international economies. Through this publication, FGV’s Brazilian Institute of Economics and Finance (FGV/IBRE) compares different periods of the economy, assessing both macroeconomic considerations and scenarios related to finance, administration, marketing, management, insurance, statistics, and price indices.
For more information, and Brazilian economic index results, visit: http://bit.ly/1EA1Loz
December 2010 - Domestic Market: Set to soarFGV Brazil
The Brazilian Economy is one of the oldest publications for expert economic analysis of both the Brazilian and international economies. Through this publication, FGV’s Brazilian Institute of Economics and Finance (FGV/IBRE) compares different periods of the economy, assessing both macroeconomic considerations and scenarios related to finance, administration, marketing, management, insurance, statistics, and price indices.
For more information, and Brazilian economic index results, visit: http://bit.ly/1EA1Loz
one hedge fund manager can pocketed $ 1,3 bio (2014)!
This reminded me of a famous Wall Street joke – about a visitor to New York who admired the gorgeous yachts of the richest bankers and brokers. After gazing long and thoughtfully at these beautiful boats, the visitor asked wryly: “Where are the customers’ yachts?” Of course, the customers could not afford yachts, even though they dutifully followed the advice of their bankers and brokers.
The Brazilian Economy is one of the oldest publications for expert economic analysis of both the Brazilian and international economies. Through this publication, FGV’s Brazilian Institute of Economics and Finance (FGV/IBRE) compares different periods of the economy, assessing both macroeconomic considerations and scenarios related to finance, administration, marketing, management, insurance, statistics, and price indices.
For more information, and Brazilian economic index results, visit: http://bit.ly/1EA1Loz
The Brazilian Economy is one of the oldest publications for expert economic analysis of both the Brazilian and international economies. Through this publication, FGV’s Brazilian Institute of Economics and Finance (FGV/IBRE) compares different periods of the economy, assessing both macroeconomic considerations and scenarios related to finance, administration, marketing, management, insurance, statistics, and price indices.
For more information, and Brazilian economic index results, visit: http://bit.ly/1EA1Loz
This is the first research note for Brazilintel: a series that will explore the role of Brazil in a new global era. Titled '<strong>Rio2016: More than a coming out party</strong>' it aims to explore the bigger picture behind the win, providing an easy to understand background as to why Brazil has emerged as a global leader and what is at stake moving forward .
To receive the Brazilintel comment series free of charge email<a>LINK_TEXT_HERE</a> and put 'Brazilintel Comment' in the subject line. Contact me directly to discuss your own research needs or to sponsor the series - <a>LINK_TEXT_HERE</a>/ +447843560399
Investors caught off guard by the Great Game’s evolution
stand to lose – on the low end – $1.41 trillion every year from
Wall Street alone.
And billions more could be eradicated from their bank
accounts due to spikes in energy and natural resource prices
– mixed with sharp drops in the U.S. dollar.
Ask yourself: Are you protected?
You don’t want to be left without a chair when the music stops.
As this Global Game unfolds, our entire way of life will
experience a dramatic shift for which very few investors have
prepared http://withDrDavid.com
Here’s a taste of the road ahead for the global economy:
• Coming supply shocks to natural resources – from oil and gas
to grains and rare earth metals – could unleash rampant
inflation that tears through every corner of the world economy.
• Exposure to mounting domestic debt leaves numerous leading
economies vulnerable to mounting geopolitical pressures,
reducing their political influence and driving up interest rates.
• The re-balancing of power between nations could cause
certain currencies to crash, economies to weaken, and
companies to crumble.
Let's have a discussion about capitalism and socialism. This slideshare makes the case that what we need is more capitalism as it is the system that reduces poverty and actually delivers a better overall quality of life. Yes, there are improvements that can be made, but let's have that discussion before we make revolutionary changes that have not worked well in other places.
April 2010 - Competition and credit boomFGV Brazil
The Brazilian Economy is one of the oldest publications for expert economic analysis of both the Brazilian and international economies. Through this publication, FGV’s Brazilian Institute of Economics and Finance (FGV/IBRE) compares different periods of the economy, assessing both macroeconomic considerations and scenarios related to finance, administration, marketing, management, insurance, statistics, and price indices.
For more information, and Brazilian economic index results, visit: http://bit.ly/1EA1Loz
A detailed review of the causes and effects of income inequality. Details on how extreme it is. Citation of many authors suggesting how it came about and what to do about it.
“Of all forms of tyranny, the least attractive and the most vulgar
is the tyranny of mere wealth, the tyranny of a plutocracy.”
Theodore Roosevelt, 1913.
INFOGRAPHIC: The World's Top 20 Billionaires (2015)Dario Suveljak
This infographic shows “Crème de la crème” - the very top of the 20 richest people in the World - their net worth, demographic stats and how they utilize their wealth for public good. This is the story about the richest people in the world...
The Brazilian Economy is one of the oldest publications for expert economic analysis of both the Brazilian and international economies. Through this publication, FGV’s Brazilian Institute of Economics and Finance (FGV/IBRE) compares different periods of the economy, assessing both macroeconomic considerations and scenarios related to finance, administration, marketing, management, insurance, statistics, and price indices.
For more information, and Brazilian economic index results, visit: http://bit.ly/1EA1Loz
KNOW THE LEDGE PRESENTATION ON EMPOWERMENT VIA SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP, NETWORK MARKETING, INTERNET MARKETING, ENTREPRENEURSHIP,CROWDFUNDING, AFFILIATE MARKETING
Emails may burn in hell or may open doors of heaven. They lack the body language & tone and can easily be misunderstood. So, we surely need clarity & Etiquettes to communicate. This is the only way, recipient take us positively. Many times, we do not have the 2nd chance.
Regards
M. Ali Hassni
Cell: +92 - 300 - 820 - 6276
The solutions for socioeconomic development are no longer only in the public sector. Latin America has changed dramatically over the last decade, and the private sector can play an increasingly important role in the region’s progress. That’s where social impact investing comes in—a way that investors can make money while doing social good.
The White House has appointed a social innovation czar and the Inter-American Development Bank is doing work every day in this expanding arena. Is social impact investing one of the keys that will finally unlock the region’s intractable inequality?
In this new Latin America Center analysis, released today, Adrienne Arsht Center Senior Non-Resident Fellow Gabriel Zinny dissects how businesses, governments, and multilateral institutions can better provide goods and services to the underserved while making money.
Read this and key recommendations for accelerating the sector here:
• Formalize it. A clear, market-based legal system enforced by a solid judiciary branch is fundamental to attracting impact investments.
• Seed it. Governments should subsidize a measure of the often-lacking venture-stage capital for projects, especially when the entrepreneurs come from less-affluent communities.
• Decentralize it. Local governments should be viewed as public sector partners as they often have more flexibility to spur private social enterprise.
• Read more here…
Global responses to COVID-19 - perspectives from the Latin American private s...David Ferreira
As the global community for investors for impact, AVPA, AVPN, EVPA & IVPC (LatImpacto) have launched the “Global Responses to a Global Pandemic webinar series: Sharing Philanthropy's Response to COVID-19”.
This 4-part series will share lessons and philanthropic responses from across the world by shining a virtual spotlight on regional examples to similar challenges. Through this webinar you will have the opportunity to:
• Explore the diverse roles grant makers can have in responding to the pandemic
• Share examples of responses
• Hear from voices on the ground
The possibility to start conversations and share peer learning with a global audience which can be continued over the coming months. Hear practitioner stories from 4 continents.
South Africa ranks in the top four most giving nations, we explore a new platform for social justice and accountability; and a recent survey suggests MOOCs are failing to educate the poor.
FINANCE AND LABOR PERSPECTIVES ONRISK, INEQUALITY, AND DEMO.docxericn8
FINANCE AND LABOR: PERSPECTIVES ON
RISK, INEQUALITY, AND DEMOCRACY
Sanford M. Jacobyt
We live in an era of financial development. Since 1980, capital
markets have expanded around the world; capital shuttles the globe
instantaneously. Shareholder concerns drive executive decision
making and compensation, while the fluctuations of stock markets are
a source of public anxiety. So are the financial scandals that have
regularly occurred since 1980: junk bonds in the late 1980s;
accounting and stock options in the early 2000s; and debt
securitization today.
We also live in an era of rising income inequality and
employment risk. The gaps between top and bottom incomes and
between top and middle incomes have widened since 1980. Greater
risk takes various forms, such as wage and employment volatility and
the shift from employers to employees of responsibility for
occupational pensions.
There is an enormous literature on financial development as
there is on inequality and risk. But relatively few studies consider the
intersection of these phenomena. Standard explanations for rising
inequality--skill-biased technological change and trade--explain only
30% of the variation in aggregate inequality. What else matters? We
argue here that an omitted factor is financial development.1 This
study explores the relationship between financial markets and labor
markets along three dimensions: contemporary, historical, and
comparative. For the world's industrialized nations, we find that
financial development waxes and wanes in line with top income
t Howard Noble Professor of Management, Public Policy, & History, UCLA. Thanks to
J.R. DeShazo, Stanley Engerman, Steve Foresti, Dana Frank, Mark Garmaise, Teresa
Ghilarducci, John Logan, James Livingston, Adair Morse, David Montgomery, Paul Osterman,
Grace Palladino, Peter Rappoport, Hugh Rockoff, Dani Rodrik, Emmanuel Saez, Richard
Sylla, Ryan Utsumi, Fred Whittlesey, Robert Zieger, and various interviewees. The usual
disclaimer applies. I am grateful for support from the Price Center at the UCLA Anderson
School and from the Institute for Technology, Enterprise, and Competitiveness at Doshisha
University. This paper is dedicated to Lloyd Ulman: scholar, teacher, mensch.
1. IMF, WORLD ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: GLOBALIZATION AND INEQUALITY 48
(Washington, D.C. 2007).
17
COMP. LABOR LAW & POL'Y JOURNAL
shares. Since 1980, however, there have been national divergences
between financial development--defined here as the economic
prominence of equity and credit markets-and inequality. In the
United States and United Kingdom, there remains a strong positive
correlation but in other parts of Europe and in Japan the relationship
is weaker.
What accounts for swings in financial development and inequality
and the relationship between them? Economic growth is one factor.
Another is the politics of finance. The model presented here is simple
but consistent with the evidence: Upswings in financial development
are related to politi.
Act Local Please respond to the following in 2-3 paragraphsBased .docxbobbywlane695641
"Act Local" Please respond to the following: in 2-3 paragraphsBased on the two articles below, address the following:
What fundamental actions are at least two leaders of developing countries taking to improve the living standards of their people in terms of their economies, their political systems and their environments? Please give good response, DUE 6-11-15
· Development Shouldn’t Give Democracy the Cold Shoulder
· May 2013
· One of the strongest global trends today is the empowerment of citizens and their desire for dignity and freedom. As governments prepare for what should replace the Millennium Development Goals, they should take this into account. But don't hold your breath. Two recent surveys conducted by the United Nations to inform the discussion of the post-2015 agenda provide a striking demonstration of the widening gap between citizens and their governments.
·
· One of these is the U.N.-sponsored online survey known as My world. So far more than half a million citizens in 194 countries have voted in the survey, and the results show that "honest and responsive government" consistently ranks among the top three developmental priorities cited by respondents as desirable for their own countries. In the other survey undertaken among U.N. member state governments by the U.N. Secretary-General for the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development, "good governance" ranks bizarrely as only 25th out of 32 priorities listed. The disparity between the surveys' initial results are illustrative of a wider trend where citizens see democratic governance as a major priority, while governments don't. Keeping this in mind, there are two main reasons why the High-Level Panel report should make certain that it includes democracy in its recommendations for the new development framework.
·
· First, nothing matters more for development than national politics. As pointed out by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson in their book Failed States, anyone who doubts the importance of national institutions and national policies need only look at the history of the two Koreas, which had the same economic starting point seven decades ago. Today, South Korea has a booming economy, high levels of education, and a life expectancy of 79 years, according to the World Health Organization. In North Korea, life expectancy is 64 years and the economy has stagnated under dictatorship. Open, democratic, and competitive politics with institutions that place constraints on power are far more likely to uphold the rule of law, protect property rights, and provide an inclusive market economy that limits corruption and provides opportunity for all.
·
· Second, this critical importance of national politics is only enhanced by the fact that trade, investment, and remittances are rapidly dwarfing traditional aid as vehicles for economic development. The world is waving goodbye to the old "donor-recipient" paradigm, in which the western world provides aid to support developi.
Based on Erik Reinert, How Rich Countries Got Rich ... and Why Poor Countries Stay Poor (2007), London: Constable, Chapter 8: “Get the economic activities right”, or, the Lost Art of Creating Middle-Income Countries. Further discussion on how to make upper-middle income county out of middle-income trap. And how to synchronize different aspect on developmental policy in modern era.
Report on the Competitiveness of Puerto Rico's EconomyThe New York Fed
Puerto Rico has a number of features that make it a strong and potentially highly competitive economy: Literacy rates and educational attainment continue to improve, the labor force is largely bilingual, the economy is open with a favorable location, and close ties to the U.S. mainland economy provide many advantages. However, Puerto Rico’s economic progress has stalled: the Island has been operating below its potential for some time and the competitiveness of the economy continues to deteriorate. The underutilization of labor resources, evidenced by persistently high unemployment and strikingly low labor force participation rates, provides the clearest evidence of a lack of competitiveness.
The challenge to policymakers is to marshal the Island’s considerable strengths to raise living standards and restore growth. In this report, we identify five factors that in our view pose significant competitive challenges to the Island:
• Improving Labor Market Opportunities: Puerto Rico’s labor force participation rate is among the lowest in the world, with less than half of eligible workers participating in the formal economy. Moreover, the unemployment rate has been persistently well above the U.S. mainland’s, and is especially high for the young and less educated.
• Developing Human Capital: Although the Island’s workforce overall is among the world’s most educated, Puerto Rico still lags the U.S. mainland, and there is a particularly high abundance of low-skilled workers. There are also growing concerns that the quality of the education system has deteriorated, especially at the primary and secondary levels.
• Reducing the Costs of Doing Business: The business environment in Puerto Rico makes it costly and cumbersome to establish and grow new businesses and expand existing ones. In particular, regulations, the elevated cost of electricity, and an underdeveloped and costly transportation infrastructure are barriers to a more dynamic environment.
• Mobilizing Finance for Business Development and Growth: Weak banks and limited alternatives to bank funding have reduced credit availability to local businesses.
• Lowering Dependence on a Shrinking Industry: Tax incentives led to an outsized presence of the pharmaceuticals industry on the Island. The incentives have been phased out and employment in the industry has declined. Going forward, there appears to be only a limited prospect for the sector to be a driver of growth.
The McKinsey Quarterly 2004 Number 2100 The power of productiv.docxoreo10
The McKinsey Quarterly 2004 Number 2100 The power of productivity 101
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The McKinsey Quarterly 2004 Number 2100 The power of productivity 101
After the Second World War, a vast array of international and national
institutions—the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary
Fund, and a host of nongovernment and government aid organizations—
was created to better the lot of the world’s poor. Conventional wisdom came
to hold that improvements in infrastructure, technology, capital markets,
education, and health care would eliminate the stark distinctions between
rich and poor nations.1 Fifty years and billions of dollars later, this wisdom
has proved wrong.
At the beginning of the 1990s, the Soviet Union’s fall precipitated a new
conventional wisdom. This “Washington consensus” focused heavily on
macroeconomic policies, such as flexible exchange rates, low inflation,
and government solvency, while also embracing microeconomic elements—
for instance, price decontrol, privatization, and good corporate governance
and market regulation. Market reform swept through the world, including
countries as diverse as Argentina, Brazil, India, Mexico, New Zealand,
Poland, and Russia. Most were thought to be doing virtually everything
needed to spark rapid growth.
But once again the results were disappointing. By the end of the 1990s, most
of these countries’ growth rates had returned to levels so low that the profile
of the global economic landscape wasn’t changing at all. Today more than
The power
of productivity
Poor countries should put their consumers first.
William W. Lewis
1 For more on the failure of development economics, see William Easterly, The Elusive Quest for Growth:
Economists’ Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics, Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2002.
The McKinsey Quarterly 2004 Number 2102 The power of productivity 103
80 percent of the world’s people still get by on less than a quarter of the
average income in rich countries, much as they did 50 years ago.
Even worse, only a handful of countries, having moved out of dire poverty
into the middle ground, enjoy a real prospect of joining the rich ones
(Exhibit 1). This failure is worrisome because it means that today’s poor
countries will probably be poor 20 years from now. Economic develop-
ment is a slow process. Even if poor countries grew at the extraordinary rate
of 7 percent a year, it would take them 50 years to catch up. At current
rates, it would take them a couple of centuries—if they ever did. As the
tenacity of oppressive regimes and the rise in terrorism in these poor
countries amply demonstrate, this gap between rich and poor is a major
threat to global stability.
Conventional solutions have failed because they don’t address the real causes
of persistent poverty. The Washington consensus, like the 50 years of
development economics before it, is grounded in an analysis of economies
...
Similar to Impact investing - profit meets purpose (20)
MARINET – National Technology Initiative (NTI) is a key long-term program of the public-private partnership in the development of promising new markets based on high-tech solutions that will determine development of the global and Russian economy in the next 15-20 years.
MARINET was established in 2015 and involves a wide range of organizations providing advanced technologies for the maritime industry – from the leading corporations and universities to startup companies and research teams. Currently it joins several hundreds representatives from technology companies, leading universities, research and scientific centers, development institutions, business associations, ministries and government agencies.
1. Sports Diplomacy and with the U.S. Sports Diplomacy
quarterly
FALL2011AmericasQuarterly:THEPOLICYJOURNALFOROURHEMISPHEREVOLUME5,NUMBER4ImpactInvesting
Linking
Investment
Returns to
Social Good
•Farmers in Haiti
•Housing in Brazil
•Water in Mexico
Bugg-Levine
& Emerson:
Hype or Promise?
Morduch:
Lessons from
Past Failures
PLUS
How to Become
an Impact Investor
FALL 2011
AMERICASQUARTERLY.ORG$9.95
THE POLICY JOURNAL FOR OUR HEMISPHERE FALL 2011 VOL.5 ⁄ NO.4
MINING
IN PERU:
Do Chinese Companies
Exploit More?
PAGE 48
NORA
LUSTIGON
REDUCING
INEQUALITY
AQ0411_COVER_LAY09C.indd 3AQ0411_COVER_LAY09C.indd 3 10/28/11 11:01 AM10/28/11 11:01 AM
2. Americas Quarterly FALL 201166
AMERICAS QUARTERLY
34
Argentina
ESTEBAN BULLRICH AND
GABRIEL SÁNCHEZ ZINNY
The new government
should focus on quality
as well as spending.
38
Brazil
EDUARDO J. GOMEZ
Dilma’s dilemma: spreading
the benefit of windfall oil
profits without
undermining growth.
43
LatinAmerica’s
ShrinkingInequality
NORA LUSTIG
A result of policies,
politics—or luck?
48
ChineseMiningCompanies
BARBARA KOTSCHWAR,
THEODORE MORAN AND
JULIA MUIR
Assessing their record
on labor rights and
the environment.
58
TheAfricaConnection
NANCY BRUNE
The emerging narco
nexus between West
Africa and Brazil.
REVISITINGEDUCATIONREFORM
COVER: ILLUSTRATION BY RAY BARTKUS
AQ0411_TOC_LAY15.indd 6AQ0411_TOC_LAY15.indd 6 10/26/11 11:09 AM10/26/11 11:09 AM
3. AMERICASQUARTERLY.ORG 7Americas QuarterlyFALL 2011
Features
66 HypeorPromise?
ANTONY BUGG-LEVINE AND JED EMERSON
Pairing philanthropy and profit takes
work—and smart regulation.
71 Charticle:HowtoBe
anImpactInvestor
LINA SALAZAR AND NORMA ZACARIAS
It starts with finding the money. And
then it gets really complicated.
78 NotSoFast
JONATHAN MORDUCH
The ups and downs of microfinance offer
some cautionary lessons to champions
of socially conscious investing.
84 WhenthePrivate
SectorIsn’tEnough
KATIE GRACE AND DAVID WOOD
Governments play a vital role in ensuring
that impact investment achieves genuine
social and environmental goals.
91 ACaseStudy
LIAM BRODY
Root Capital introduces big investors
to small rural farmers and cooperatives—
with dramatic results.
95 AskTheExperts
Can impact investment be an effective
tool to reduce poverty? Michael
Edwards, Ron Cordes, Stuart Yasgur,
and Amit Bouri respond.
How secure are their jobs?
Peruvian miners from the
Chinese mining company Chinalco
in Morococha, Peru.
48
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FALL 2011
VOLUME 5, NUMBER 4
WhenProfitMeets
SocialPurpose
Impact investment plays an increasingly
visible role in the developing world—
projected to rise from $400 billion to
$1 trillion over the next decade. In Latin
America, some see it as the Next Big Thing
for addressing endemic poverty, lack of
access to capital and the environment.
Our special section starts on page 64.
LESLIEJOSEPHS/AP
AQ0411_TOC_LAY15.indd 7AQ0411_TOC_LAY15.indd 7 10/25/11 8:34 AM10/25/11 8:34 AM
4. Americas Quarterly FALL 2011 AMERICASQUARTERLY.ORG8
CLOCKWISE:WHITNEYEULICH;PHOTOCREDITTK;LUISACOSTA/AFP/GETTY
Departments
3 From the Editor
11 Panorama São Paulo’s cowboy
festival, pre-election polling in
Venezuela, Costa Rican filmmaker
Hernan Jiménez dazzles N.Y. critics
with El Regreso, 10 Things to Do
in San Salvador, and more.
19 AQ Interview Colombian
President Juan Manuel Santos
on free trade, security policy
and his first year in office.
24 Hard Talk Can Mexico win the
war against drugs? Alejandro Poiré
and José Merino square off.
30 Innovators/Innovations David
Reyes pioneers transparency in
Salvadoran politics. Telmary Díaz raps
for peace in Havana. Osvaldo Lucho
bridges Brazil’s digital divide. Maria
Teresa Kumar empowers U.S. Latinos.
98 Dispatches from the Field:
Chirretzaaj Matthew Walter tracks
the impact of rising food prices
on Guatemala’s rural poor.
102 Tongue in Cheek The best of
the region’s political cartoons.
104 Policy Update Colin Robertson
on Canada’s new Americas policy.
Andrea Armeni on the mining boom
in Colombia’s Indigenous lands. Layne
Holley on Latin American call centers.
112 Fresh Look Reviews Kevin P.
Gallagher reviews new scholarship
on China’s engagement with
Latin America. Marta Tienda
looks at a study of Mexico’s U.S.
diaspora. Juan Cruz Díaz examines
Uruguay–U.S. trade talks.
120 Just the Numbers Wine production
in the hemisphere: uncorked.
19
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FALL 2011
VOLUME 5, NUMBER 4
in our
next
issue:
98 11
China–U.S.–Latin America: How should the U.S. and others understand and react to the changes brought about
by China’s expanding presence in the region? Liz Economy explains China’s worldview; Lowell Dittmer discusses how
China’s developing-world diplomacy is increasing its global weight; and Oswaldo Rosales analyzes trade competition.
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5. AMERICASQUARTERLY.ORG 91Americas QuarterlyFALL 2011
hroughout the developing world, the
rural poor—approximately 75 percent
ofthemorethan2.7billionpeoplewho
live on less than $2 a day—are often
isolated from formal markets. However, impact invest-
ing that generates social or environmental benefits and
financial returns presents a new opportunity to address
rural poverty with market-based solutions.
A recent study by J.P. Morgan Global Research and
the Rockefeller Foundation estimates that the impact
investing market will grow from $400 billion to $1 tril-
lion over the next decade. This emerging asset class has
played a critical role in fueling the growth of organiza-
tions like Root Capital, a nonprofit social investment
fund that aims to grow rural prosperity by investing
in agricultural businesses in Latin America and Africa.
It does so by providing capital and financial training
andbystrengtheningmarketconnectionsforsmalland
growing businesses such as coffee and cocoa farmer
cooperatives, mango exporters and companies selling
drought-resistant hybrid seeds to small-scale farmers.
Most of the rural poor depend on agriculture as their
primarysourceofincome.AccordingtotheWorldBank’s
2008 World Development Report, economic growth in
the agricultural sector is twice as effective in reducing
poverty as growth in other economic sectors.1
Access to
IMPACT
INVESTING
SPECIAL SECTION
ROOT
CAPITAL
ByLiamBrody
Taking big investors to small rural farmers
and cooperatives.
A CASE STUDY
IN IMPACT INVESTING
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6. 92 Americas Quarterly FALL 2011 AMERICASQUARTERLY.ORG
Root Capital: A Case Study in Impact Investing LIAM BRODY
stableexportmarketscanputfarmersandtheircommu-
nities on a path to long-term economic prosperity and
environmentalsustainability.Inturn,accesstoworking
capitaliscriticalforsmallandgrowingagriculturalbusi-
nesses to fill the gap between planting, harvesting and
processing a crop, and receiving payment from buyers.
Unfortunately,smallruralbusinessesoftenlackaccess
to financing.Commercialbankstypicallydonotlendin
ruralareas,ortheydemandpaymentschedulesandhard
collateralthatcash-poorruralbusinessesareunabletopro-
vide.Whilemicrofinanceaddressesthefinancingneeds
ofindividualsandverysmallbusinesses,ithaslessreach
in remote farming regions and tends not to serve agri-
cultural businesses that need loans in excess of $25,000.
Our organization, Root Capital, was established in
1999 to fill that gap. Headquartered in Cambridge MA,
and with offices throughout Latin America and sub-Sa-
haran Africa, Root Capital focuses on lending to busi-
nessesthataretoolargeformicrofinancebutareunable
to secure credit from conventional commercial banks.
Since Root Capital’s launch, we have provided more
than $320 million in credit to 350 such businesses in
30 countries. These businesses represent more than
500,000 small-scale farm households—families that
benefit from higher and more stable incomes and im-
provedlivelihoods.Thishasbeenachievedwhilemain-
taininga99percentrepaymentratefromborrowersand
a 100 percent repayment rate to investors.
At the close of 2010, Root Capital’s lending program
was80percentofthewaytowardoperationalself-suffi-
ciency.Inlessthanfiveyears,RootCapitalwillcoverthe
full costs of its core lending program through revenue
from loan interest and fees. In the meantime, philan-
thropiccontributionsfilltherevenuegap.Philanthropy
alsoplaysaroleinunderwritingRootCapital’sfinancial
management training program for rural business lead-
ers. The firm funds its loan portfolio with investments
from foundations, corporations, accredited individual
investors,sociallyresponsibleinvestmentfirms,andre-
ligious institutions, and 100 percent of these funds are
loaned directly to small rural businesses.
Investors and donors say they are attracted to Root
Capital because of its 10 years of experience working
with rural businesses and its record of generating fi-
nancial, social and environmental returns. One such
investor is Paul Leander-Engström, founder and chair-
man of The World We Want Foundation (3W) in Swe-
den. Although relatively new to impact investing, he is
a major philanthropic donor to Root Capital’s lending
and financial management training in Latin America,
as well as an investor. Leander-Engström says charita-
ble investments are “no different” than any other kind
ofinvestment,requiring“thoroughduediligence,com-
mitment,engagement,and nurturingformaximum re-
sults and impact.” 3W’s due diligence helps it “identify
outstanding social enterprises providing high-impact
solutions to poverty and environmental degradation.”
Recently,Leander-EngströmandKirstenPoitras,man-
agingdirectorof3W,traveledtoHaititovisitRootCapital
clients. With four clients in Haiti, Root Capital is play-
ing a modest but demonstrable role in helping farmers
accesspremiummarkets.Thataccesshelpsthemescape
asubsistencelivingthatnotonlyplacestheirfamiliesat
risk but also stresses the natural environment.
The two investors visited a client, CariFresh, a fam-
ily-owned organic mango exporting business run by
a Haitian entrepreneur named Cassandra Remiers. Al-
though CariFresh’s packing plant was badly damaged
in the 2010 earthquake, the family quickly repaired the
packing plant and offered it to Haiti’s government as a
logisticalstaginggroundduringtheemergencyreliefef-
fort. Today, the business is prospering, and its mangos
are exported to the U.S. and Canada, thanks in part to
Liam Brody is senior vice president of business devel-
opment and corporate relations at Root Capital.
FOR SOURCE CITATIONS SEE: WWW.AMERICASQUARTELY.ORG/BRODY
Bridging the
divide: Root
Capital investor
Paul Leander-
Engström (above)
learns how
Haitian mango
farmers are
accessing new
export markets.
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7. AMERICASQUARTERLY.ORG 93Americas QuarterlyFALL 2011
financing from Root Capital. Remiers is part of a new
generation of agricultural entrepreneurs in Haiti who,
with the right tools, can play a key role in transform-
inglivelihoodsforsmall-scaleproducersinthecountry.
Three hours north of Port-au-Prince in the town of
Mirebalais, Leander-Engström and Poitras met with
small-scale growers who supply CariFresh. Access to
the organic export markets allows these farmers to sell
mangoes for nearly three times the local market price.
Finally, the 3W team journeyed to Thiotte, a remote
mountainstownneartheDominicanborder,locatedin
one of the few remaining tracts of Haitian rainforest.
There they met with Root Capital’s first Haitian client,
Coopérative des Planteurs de Café de l’Arrondissement de
Belle-Anse (COOPCAB).
Thecooperativerepresentsover4,000coffee-farming
families from the area surrounding Thiotte. In a coun-
try where only 1.5 percent of forest cover remains, the
specialty-grade Arabica coffee that COOPCAB’s mem-
bers produce and export grows better under the shade
offorestcanopy—linkingeconomicopportunitytoen-
vironmental conservation.
Later this year, with trade finance provided by Root
Capital, COOPCAB expects to export six times as much
coffee as last year. Beyond forest conservation, these
sales enable the cooperative to fund school fees for the
children of its members. COOPCAB is also planning to
build a medical clinic with its retained earnings.
Thankstotheriseofimpactinvestingandcapitalfrom
investors like Leander-Engström and 3W, Root Capital
loan disbursements have been growing at an annual
rateofmorethan40percent.Thisyear,RootCapitalwill
disburse $125 million in loans to more than 230 small
rural businesses across Latin America and Africa.
Over the past two de-
cades, microfinance
has been a lifeline for mil-
lions of Haitian small-busi-
ness owners. But after the
devastating earthquake in
January 2010, many of the
country’s 130,000 micro-
credit borrowers could no
longer make their monthly
payments. By the end of
that year, $62 million was
outstanding in microloans,
creating a major liquidity
crisis within the country’s
microfinance industry.
Enter Calvert Founda-
tion, a U.S.-based, non-
profit impact investing
firm. In June 2010, Cal-
vert teamed up with fund
manager Omtrix and sev-
eral partners, including the
Inter-American Develop-
ment Bank’s Multilateral
Investment Fund, the Clin-
ton-Bush Haiti Fund and
the Deutsche Bank Foun-
dation, to restart the flow
of money between credi-
tors and microfinance insti-
tutions. The result was the
Haitian Emergency Liquid-
ity Program (HELP).
HELP purchases delin-
quent loans from microfi-
nance institutions (MFIs),
allowing them to maintain
their lending operations
and preserve their capital
base. The restored liquidity
enables MFIs to restructure
loans with lower interest
rates and/or extended re-
payment terms, lessening
the burden on the creditor.
The MFIs will repay HELP
in monthly installments
over three years, after
which they will repurchase
all or a portion of the origi-
nal loans back from HELP.
Caroline Bressan, in-
vestment officer for Latin
America and the Carib-
bean at Calvert Founda-
tion, says keeping Haitian
MFIs afloat at this time is
crucial. “Once you damage
the culture of payment in a
country,” she says, “it hurts
overall access to credit and
the wellbeing of the micro-
finance system.”
Today, HELP collabo-
rates with three Haitian
MFIs: FINCA Haiti, Associ-
ation pour la Coopération
avec la Micro Entreprise
(Association for Cooper-
ation in Microenterprise),
and Fond Haitien D’Aide À
La Femme (Haitian Fund
for Aid to Women). To-
gether they service 6,500
creditors—mostly urban
women with small busi-
nesses selling produce or
cheap household goods.
The Calvert Founda-
tion’s contribution to HELP
comes from interest-bear-
ing investments by its net-
work of 8,000 retail
investors—individals in-
vesting, on average,
$10,000 from their per-
sonal accounts—rather
than from a corporation.
The investment offers a
creditor a new loan to re-
build his or her business,
and the profits from the
business are ultimately
used to repay the investor
with interest.
Arthur Marie Thomas,
whose produce business
in Jacmel was destroyed
by the earthquake, is hop-
ing she comes out a win-
ner, too. The 52-year-old
single mother of four re-
ceived a $1,250 loan from
FINCA Haiti in January
2011 and has already man-
aged to rebuild her store.
As she works to make it
as profitable as before the
earthquake struck, that mi-
croloan is once again pro-
viding a lifeline.
HELPHAITI BY RICHARD ANDRÉ
IMPACT
INVESTING
SPECIAL SECTION
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