On Sept. 19, 2017, Mexico City commemorated its 32nd anniversary of rising from the debris left by its worst earthquake in modern history; the capitalinos’ resilience (residents of Mexico City) was tested anew. A 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit the capital of Mexico adding an extra struggle to a country that was recovering from a previous […]
Author Archive | Noe Nava and Mindy Mallory
What is Driving the Decline in Ethanol Prices?
After briefly rallying in November 2014, the price of ethanol continued to fall through the beginning of 2015. With the collapse of oil prices continuing to dominate the news, it is tempting to assume that the decline in ethanol prices is being driven by the bearish news coming out of the crude oil market. However, […]
Why formal credit eludes African smallholder farmers and the role of village moneylenders
Eyeballing the bowl of ugali lying on the rough-edged wooden table for eight, the African farmer feels once again let down by those more powerful than herself: weather, God and government. Rewinding this year’s events, the rain was unmoved by the collective prayers and tantalized villagers with an elusive appearance. With pest killers selling at […]
Trading Off Fracked Natural Gas for Coal in China
By Sarah Grajdura and Mindy Mallory on February 13, 2015 in Commodities, Consumer, Economics, Energy
China’s enormous growth in the past few decades stimulated a high demand for energy that historically has been fueled by coal. However, obtaining natural gas from fracking shale formations is becoming an economical competitor to coal in China because of advances in technology and economic incentives provided by the Chinese government (Thomas, p.1). Between 1984 […]
Little Evidence that the National Food Authority can Influence the Price of Rice in the Philippines
Rice is the staple food in the Philippines. It accounts for 1/3 of the total food consumption (in terms of domestic utilization in metric tons) and is grown on about 4 million hectares of the total 13 million hectares of arable land (Glipo, Vibal and Cainglet, 2002). The Philippine government has made numerous attempts to […]