Instituto Henry George - Noticias

Managua, June 20, 2001 -- The Instituto Henry George's fifth intensive "Comprender la Economía" Political Economy class Graduated on June 6th with the highest number (72) and course percentage of graduates (70%) recorded to date. The circumstances of increasing recession and economic crisis, political uncertaintly in an election year, and the occurrence of a city-wide transportation strike towards the end of the course made registration and execution of this course more difficult for the IHG as well as the students. For that reason, the results were unexpectedly and overwhelmingly positive. Almost all of the class of 82 who finished the course signed a petition requesting government officials to be made aware of the Georgist remedy and to implement feasibility studies. Of the 30 "Superior" level graduates who registered 80% or more in their exams and final essay, 13 attended the follow-up volunteer participation meeting the following week. The experience of these first five CE courses has allowed the IHG to develop and streamline administrative and teaching methods and materials to where we expect to be able to offer the CE course every 6 weeks. With the graduation of our first CE teachers, the IHG plans to duplicate the course in other areas of Managua and outside of Managua.

	CE 6-00	CE 8-00	CE 10-00	CE 2-01	CE 5-01
# Days Promo	18	7	9	10	15
Promo Media (newspaper classified ads in LP or END, flyers, handouts during surveys)	END/Vol.s	END/LP	LP/END	LP	LP/END Fly.s / Surv.
# Days App.s Received	23	8	8	11	14

Total App.s Disbursed	194	341	165	322	354
Total App.s Received	72 (37%)	179 (53%)	89 (54%)	159 (49%)	149 (42%)
Avg. Applicant Qualification	68%	57%	63%	65%	70%

Inicial Course Participants	50	50	96	102	103
# Course Graduates	23 (46%)	22 (44%)	46 (48%)	52 (51%)	72 (70%)

Land Prices in Managua Lead the Way to Recession
Managua, June 20, 2001 - Among the IHG's varios projects is the study of Real Estate prices over the last 10+ years. This collection of data was realized by volunteers Brenda Ramirez and Zobeyda Garcia who used data from the classified section of the two major newspapers in Managua. The data was tabulated using basic statistical methods to determine the general trend of price changes from 1990 to the May 2001. As the graph below indicates, real estate prices in the capital of Managua have steadily risen with the largest rise coming in the first half of this year, exactly when Nicaragua is experiencing and perceiving the deepening of a serious recessionary period. The IHG study also breaks down the data results into graphs of 18 commercial and residencial areas in which we see that where there has been more public and private investment, there is more land value and more speculation in land values. Currently land values are significantly overinflated. This has affectively cut off access to the better locations for doing business due to the inability of the increasing numbers of families and businesses to pay the overinflated prices. There are indications that some land speculators are feeling the low demand and may be more willing to lower their expectations in the near future. (The complete IHG study data spreadsheet is available free CGO member organizations, via e-mail.)

As land prices and speculation have risen (as shown in the graph), the productive use of economically valuable lands has stagnated in the capital of Nicaragua. In the photo, we see a centrally located commercial property that has remained without use for more than a year and a half. How can the owners afford to maintain this property as nothing more than a decaying garbage dump and public open air dormatory? If the title holders were obliged to pay a land value tax as compensation to the community for their monopoly privileges, would this potentially productive property then be put to use?

IHG Projects to Renew After Paralyzing Transportation Strike in Managua
Managua, June 20, 2001 - The IHG's varios projects came to a virtual halt in the first two weeks of June due to a city-wide transportion strike in the Nicaraguan capital as well as the termination of the CE radio show contract which is currently being renegotiated. With the graduation of the fifth CE course and the participation of new volunteers, the IHG will be continuing the Teacher-Training course, the University campus survey and outreach project, the CE radio program, a letter writing campaign to the major media, a signature gathering project for the petition to the (new) government for a feasibility study of the LVT, publication of the IHG's first land price study, the production of an educational and promotional videos, and more.

"Work with passion, have fun, save the world!"
"Trabajar con pasión, divertirse, salvar el mundo!"

NOTICIAS, Junio 2001