Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-1981

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Economics

Major Professor

William E. Cole

Committee Members

Hans E. Jensen, Anne Mayhew, Richard Sanders

Abstract

The basis of this study is a chronology of Mexico's official ejido credit institutions and their policies during 1925-1975. Statistical data and other pertinent information are presented by six-year (presidential) administrative periods, concerning: the laws and decrees pertinent to ejido credit, the organizational structure of the ejido credit system, sources of capital, lending programs, cooperative organization, non-credit services provided by the credit institutions, cost of administering the programs, institutional losses and agricultural production by the ejidos receiving credit.

The author collected data for this study during six months of research in Mexico. Important sources include: annual reports and special studies of the National Bank of Ejido Credit (BNCE), publications of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, presentations by the BNCE's officials to the Mexican Government, interviews with former employees of the BNCE and officials in the Ministry of the Treasury, newspaper articles and published work on the ejido credit institutions.

The analysis indicates that Mexico's official ejido credit policies, during 1925-1975, can be viewed as consisting of four phases. The initial phase covers the period 1925-1935 during which only nine regular banks were established. The role of the credit institution was limited to providing an alternative source of capital to ejidos to aid in their production of subsistence crops. The second phase, 1936-1952, began with the sudden conversion to an ejido credit system of national scale. The roles of the institution likewise expanded rapidly to encompass the economic, political and social development of the ejidos. However, the latter years of the second phase saw a diminishing emphasis on the social and political goals and a narrowing of the credit institution's economic objectives. During phase three, 1953-L970, the ejido credit institutions intensified their focus on economic development of the ejidos and adopted a role as production enterprise. During the recent phase of the study, 1971-1975, the analysis indicates attempts by the ejido credit institutions to reincorporate social and political development of the ejidos into their policies, to retain their role in ejido economic development, and to continue as a productive enterprise.

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