The 1990s saw significant increases in commercial bank membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) System and extensive growths in FHLB assets and outstanding advances. Since FHLB policies may enable risk-taking behavior by the System's member institutions, this research evaluates the impact of the FHLBs on community bank members, local consumers, and local markets. Results suggest that commercial bank liquidity is enhanced by and managed with the use of System advances, and investments in loans and mortgage-related assets increase with FHLB participation, particularly by small bank members. Credit quality and bank financial conditions improve after participating in the FHLB program, and cost savings from borrowing System funds may contribute to higher rates paid on deposits in local markets. However, banks with greater exposure to interest rate risk are more likely to become FHLB members, and interest rate risk exposure further increases after membership attainment, as the amount of advances borrowed increases, and the longer members remain in the FHLB program. Long-term advances have not been used to lengthen liability duration to offset growth in long-term asset investments, which makes the FHLB System more highly susceptible to rising rates. / Ph. D.

Submitted by Fabio Augusto Pera de Souza (fpera@usp.br) on 2017-03-20T14:58:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Fabio Pera_14-03-17.pdf: 2172303 bytes, checksum: 974db544fe5a8fbd20de9e2fc25aa99c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Pamela Beltran Tonsa (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2017-03-20T15:43:24Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Fabio Pera_14-03-17.pdf: 2172303 bytes, checksum: 974db544fe5a8fbd20de9e2fc25aa99c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-20T16:16:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Fabio Pera_14-03-17.pdf: 2172303 bytes, checksum: 974db544fe5a8fbd20de9e2fc25aa99c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-24 / This study evaluates competition between Brazilian Cooperative Financial Institutions (CFIs) and commercial banks in local credit markets running a pooled OLS of bank interest rate as a function of CFI market share, competition and county characteristics. Database has 55920 observations regarding the four quarters of 2013. Results show no significant impact of CFI presence on bank interest rates. On the other hand, bank type and Human Development Index (HDI) are important determinants of bank rates. It is necessary to look at relationship between CFIs and banks beyond traditional literature on banking competition. Moreover, regulators should not treat them the same way for empowering population should be a main goal of government. / Este estudo analisa a competição entre cooperativas de crédito (CFIs) e bancos comerciais em mercados de crédito locais por meio de modelos MQO tendo a taxa de juros dos bancos em função da participação de mercado das CFIs, do nível de competição e de características locais. A base de dados contém as operações de cada trimestre de 2013, totalizando 55920 observações. Os resultados não mostram efeito significativo da presença de CFIs sobre as taxas dos bancos. Por outro lado, o tipo de banco e o Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano (IDHm) são importantes determinantes da taxa. É necessário analisar o relacionamento entre CFIs e bancos para além da literatura tradicional sobre concorrência bancária. Além disso, o regulador não deve tratar instituições cooperativas e bancárias da mesma forma. Finalmente, dar mais poder aos clientes do sistema financeiro deve ser uma meta fundamental do governo.

Women are over-represented among the rural poor in developing countries, and the difficulties they face in raising themselves out of poverty are well established. This thesis examines how gender structures trade in local markets and forms of sociability in rural Ethiopia, using survey data from four rural communities and three local market places. Over 600 male and female farmers were surveyed, and qualitative data from interviews and observations was used to interpret and analyze the results. The thesis is in four parts: Part I introduces the research questions, and presents the theory and research methodology. The thesis posits that women’s access to resources is mediated via men, making it difficult for them to head their own households. Part II links the theoretical concepts to conditions in the field, showing how the the less valued activities are assigned to women, and develops a resource index that establishes the inequality in resource access. Part III proves that gender structures local markets and that the inequality in access to resources is reproduced in these. Yet trading offers an important livelihood for women, challenging their isolation and expanding their choices and markets are arenas in which they can exercise their agency. Part IV shows that local forms of sociability are also structured by gender and influence access to other resources. Density of social network ties and access to rural resources are strongly linked, particularly for female household heads. The final chapter shows how the gendered structure of local markets and sociability allows men to capitalize on resources more effectively than women. But women can carve out space and authority for themselves, lead local organizations and become active traders, and are actually less embedded in communities and more embedded in markets than men. The thesis problematizes the livelihood options open to female household heads, and how they balance these between markets and communities. The thesis concludes that future attempts to strengthen local markets and institutions must acknowledge that women and men face different constraints and opportunities. Women's room for maneuver could then translate into real empowerment.

Local governments do not operate in a vacuum. Instead, they are part of a complex “polycentric” system of governments where politically autonomous and self-ruled cities compete with one another over taxable wealth. Missing from the scholarship on metropolitan governance is an understanding of the factors driving competition among local governments. The purpose of this dissertation is to fill this gap by examining how interjurisdictional competition over economic development impacts a city’s choice of strategies for attracting business and residential investment and how those strategies affect revenue collection. First, this dissertation examines whether cities, knowing the economic development strategies of their neighboring cities, pursue similar types of businesses? Or do cities strategically target different types of businesses as a way to avoid the negative consequences of competition? Second, this dissertation explores what impact the decision to pursue similar or dissimilar businesses has on the revenue collection of local governments. Using spatial data analysis to analyze a sample of 2,299 cities, this dissertation finds general support for both theoretical frameworks presented. Overall, the findings from both analyses provide unique insights into metropolitan governance and interjurisdictional competition.

L’agriculture biologique sort aujourd’hui des frontières des pays du Nord en se développant dans de nombreux pays dits du Sud. Cette dynamique a tout d’abord été celle d’un positionnement sur des filières d’export de produits à haute valeur ajoutée. Parallèlement à l’export, émergent dans un nombre croissant de pays en développement, et notamment au Kenya, des marchés domestiques. La thèse pose la question des dynamiques permettant l’émergence et le développement de ces nouveaux marchés. La recherche est structurée autour de quatre questions. La première porte sur les formes d’organisation des échanges de produits biologiques à Nairobi. À partir du cadre de l’économie néo-institutionnelle, nous expliquons comment, en l’absence de systèmes de certification crédibles, ces produits parviennent à être vendus avec premiums. La seconde question porte sur les conditions d’accès des producteurs à ces marchés. Il est fréquent de mettre en avant leur caractère plus rémunérateur. Or, une partie des producteurs qui pourraient effectivement vendre sur ces marchés privilégient les marchés conventionnels. À partir du concept de coûts de transaction, nous montrons le rôle de coûts de négociation et de suivi. Dans notre troisième chapitre, nous posons la question des effets de l’accès à ces marchés sur la diversification des cultures des producteurs, et par là sur la durabilité économique et environnementale de leurs exploitations. À partir des apports de la micro-économie, nos résultats confirment l’effet positif de l’accès aux marchés biologiques.Enfin, notre quatrième et dernier chapitre consiste en une analyse de l’efficacité de ces marchés et des conditions de leur pérennité. Nous proposons une grille d’analyse associant économie de l’information et analyse de la construction de la qualité. Elle nous permet de comparer les différents dispositifs de certification existant au Kenya. L’analyse montre que le dispositif le moins efficace est celui qui est amené à se développer, posant ainsi la question de la pérennité des marchés biologiques domestiques kenyans. / Over the past two decades the organic agro-food system has been transformed, extending beyond Northern countries and expanding in many so-called developing countries.This dynamic was first a positioning on high added value products’ export markets. Since several years, domestic markets have emerged in a growing number of developing countries, including Kenya. This thesis attempts to shed light on the dynamics explaining these new markets’ emergence and development. The research is based on four questions. The first one concerns the way organic transactions have been organized in Nairobi. Based on neo institutional economics, we explain how, in the absence of credible certification systems, these products are able to be sold with premium. The second question deals with the conditions of producers’ access to these markets. It is common to highlight that organic domestic Kenyan markets are more profitable than conventional ones. However, some producers, who could actually sell in these markets, prefer conventionalones. Thanks to the concept of transaction costs, we show the role of negotiation and monitoring transaction costs. Chapter 3 analyses the effects of selling on organic market on crops’ diversification, as a proxy of economic and environmental sustainability .Based on microeconomics’ contributions our results confirm the positive effect of organic markets. Finally, our fourth and final chapter provides an analysis of the conditions of these markets sustainability. We propose an analysis grid combining economy of information and quality construction approach, based on Hirschman (1970) works.This grid helps us comparing different certification and verification schemes existing in Kenya. Analysis shows that the least effective scheme is the one that is bound to grow,raising the question of the sustainability of Kenyan domestic organic markets.