Running Head: Copa vs. Southwest: Lease Accounting
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Copa Airlines and Southwest Airlines: A Comparison of
Lease Accounting Practices Related to Commercial Aircraft
Sara F. Shorter
The University of Southern Mississippi
Running Head: Copa vs. Southwest: Lease Accounting
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Abstract
Copa Airlines began in the growing economic power of Panama, situated in Central America, with the
invaluable resource of the Panama Canal flowing through its center. Panama has grown to be the third
largest economy in the region, with 80% of its economy comprised of its booming service industry. This
service industry is primarily comprised of industries such as banking, insurance, container operations, and
medical services. Panama is a free-market economy and the American dollar is the primary currency in
Panama, a result of the United States strong history with the country in relation to the construction and
eventual gifting of the Panama Canal back to the country itself. Copa Airlines, which began as a small
regional operation serving it’s home country only, has since grown to have operations throughout Central
America, and by the 1980’s, Copa began to offer flights into major U.S. hubs. The focus topic of this
report and one of the main issues in accounting within airlines in the United States is the booking of their
aircraft. This study will compare and contrast the lease treatment of aircraft on the books of Southwest
Airlines and Copa Airlines, and how each home country’s accounting policies impact those lease
decisions. Data will be collected using the internet as a primary source prior to travel to the country itself,
including the thorough study of the companies’ websites, as well as their financial data from the each
company’s financial statements, and other financial websites such as Bloomberg and Reuters. While in
Panama on Copa’s premises, data collected from interviews with employees of the airline concerning
their operations and financials will be added to the information previously collected. This case study will
focus primarily on whether the airlines are capitalizing their aircraft as assets through a financing or
capital lease, or merely booking them as operating leases through a rent expense. In summary, the
researcher feels that Copa Airlines uses looser, principles based guidance by International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) concerning their treatment of leases, while Southwest Airlines is under more
strictly enforced rules-based governance provided by U.S. GAAP concerning their lease treatment. The
impact of these findings is that Copa Airlines is better able to control and effectively manage financial
outputs because of the use of IFRS in their accounting practices, while Southwest Airlines must follow
the more rigid rules-based applications of U.S. GAAP, disallowing such manipulation of their own
financial statements.
Running Head: Copa vs. Southwest: Lease Accounting
I.
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Introduction
A. Background and Key Terms
Lease accounting as it relates to commercial airlines has been a hot topic since it was
discovered in the 1980’s that most of the commercial aircraft in use technically did not “exist”, at
least not on any company’s books. Since that time U.S. GAAP has issued stricter, more rulesbased guidance in the area of lease accounting, making it much harder for airlines to get away
with the tactic they were using to hold down long-term liabilities. International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS), on the other hand, still allows for a more subjective, principlesbased approach where lease accounting is concerned.
Table 1 below provides definitions of the two types of leases to be considered in this study
according to a report by Susan K. Lee of the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Board
(FASAB), titled Capital and Operating Leases.
Key Term
Capital Lease
Definition
“FASAB and FASB define a capital lease as a lease that transfers
substantially all the benefits and risks of ownership to the lessee. IFAC
defines a capital lease similarly, but calls it a “finance lease” rather than a
capital lease.” (Lee, 10)
Operating Lease
“FASAB defines an operating lease as a lease in which the Federal entity
does not assume the risks of ownership of the property, plant, and
equipment (PP&E). It is an agreement conveying the right to use property
for a limited time in exchange for periodic rental payments.” (Lee, 13)
Table 1: Definitions of Capital Lease and Operating Lease
B. Business Environment in United States
The accounting/business environment in the United States that has led to such strict, rulesbased accounting practices is due largely in part to the volatile legal system present in the
country. With companies being sued on such frequent and grand scales, accounting regulatory
bodies have imposed very strict guidelines to allow financial professionals and businesses to
protect themselves in the case of a lawsuit, assuming they are following those rigid guidelines.
According to an article published in CPA Journal Online titled Defining Principles-Based
Accounting Standards by Rebecca Toppe Shortridge and Mark Myring:
“A key concern arising from the recent business scandals is that U.S. accounting
standards have become “rules-based,” filled with specific details in an attempt to address
as many potential contingencies as possible. This has made standards longer and more
complex, and has led to arbitrary criteria for accounting treatments that allow companies
to structure transactions to circumvent unfavorable reporting. In addition, the quest for
bright-line accounting rules has shifted the goal of professional judgment from
consideration of the best accounting treatment to concern for parsing the letter of the
rule.”
The article on principles vs. rules based accounting goes on to mention the huge business
environment scandals that led to the passing of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), which
Running Head: Copa vs. Southwest: Lease Accounting
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shapes the business environment in America today by setting the standards for financial
accounting and reporting all across the industries in the country. (Shortridge & Myring)
C. Lease Accounting in the United States under U.S. GAAP
The rules for U.S. GAAP and IFRS both include similar language in one aspect, that when a
contract calls for the transfer of rights and ownership of the lease property, the lease is a capital
lease. According to a report issued by Ernst & Young titled U.S.GAAP vs. IFRS: the basics,
“The overall accounting for leases under US GAAP and IFRS (ASC 840 Accounting for Leases (formerly
FAS 13) and IAS 17 Leases, respectively) is similar, although US GAAP has more specific application
guidance than IFRS.” The book titled Intermediate Accounting by Keiso, Weygandt, and Warfield
discusses types of leases and the criteria in order to classify leases certain ways. A capital lease
requires the lessee (the party taking possession of the property) to record the asset, in this study
the aircraft, as if it were purchased. The lessee then records the asset on their balance sheet,
along with the coinciding long-term liability. The lessee also records depreciation and interest
expense in the subsequent periods. The lessor in the capital lease situation removes the assets
from their books completely, along with any accumulated depreciation, and then records a longterm receivable from the lessee. (Keiso, Weygandt, and Warfield. 1121.)
An operating lease is the other type of lease involved in this study. Following U.S. GAAP, in
the situation of an operating lease, the rights and obligations of ownership of the asset are not
transferred to the lessee, and the lessee simply records periodic rent expense on their books with
a debit to rent expense and a credit to cash, thereby avoiding the long-term liability, and also
foregoing the write-off of the depreciation and interest expense for tax purposes. The lessor
keeps the asset on their books and continues their method of depreciation and interest expense in
the case of an operating lease. (Keiso, Weygandt, and Warfield. 1127.)
D. Business Environment in Panama
According to The World Bank’s website in their Business Snapshot of Panama, “The
Panamanian economy has enjoyed robust economic growth in recent years, with GDP expanding
at an average rate of around 8 percent over the past five years. Benefitting from its liberal trade
and investment regime, Panama’s service-oriented economy is a dynamic international business
hub for such activities as maritime transport, distribution services, and banking. Despite
progress, Panama’s overall economic freedom continues to be restrained by lingering
institutional weaknesses.” The Snapshot of Panama also lists three constraints to investment and
growth in Panama including tax rates, corruption, and electricity (shortage). All of the factors
impacting a country’s economy and general business environment are heavily related to
accounting rules and regulations in that country.
E. Lease Accounting in Panama under IFRS
Panama follows IFRS as their accounting regulatory body, as does much of the rest of the
developed world. IFRS is a much more principles-based approach to accounting, which allows a
company’s accountants to use a subjective and sometimes creative approach to their methods of
accounting. According to Shortridge and Myring, “Simply stated, principles-based accounting
provides a conceptual basis for accountants to follow instead of a list of detailed rules.”
Essentially, under IFRS, there are no bright-line rules on classification of leases, and in general it
is left to the company’s management and accountants to decide how to classify leases, as
operating or capital. This follows well with the fact that Panama, as well as many other Central
and South American countries have a much less rigid business environment than that of the
Running Head: Copa vs. Southwest: Lease Accounting
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United States. The article titled Accounting for Leases: IFRS versus GAAP by Dr. Barry
Epstein, CPA, shows how much less rigid accounting for leases is under IFRS in practice and in
disclosures in the financial statements. The following table summarizes the lease accounting
differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS, as discussed above.
Regulatory Body
Rules
Differences
U.S. GAAP
Classification criteria involve
bright-line, quantitative rules
for capital or operating lease
treatment.
4 Specific Rules for
Classification as a Capital
Lease: Two Qualitative and
Two Quantitative
IFRS
Classification criteria are less
General Guidance with No
rigid and more principles
Specific Rules for Lease
based, allowing accountants to Capitalization
use subjective judgment in the
classification process.
Table 2: Summary of Lease Accounting Difference: U.S. GAAP and IFRS
F. Focus Topic
The focus of this report is Copa Airlines, a comparison of procedures for lease capitalization
versus operating leases on commercial aircraft with that of Southwest Airlines. More
specifically, the report will look at how the differing approaches to policy, government, and
specifically accounting procedures relate to these companies’ practices for booking their main
source of income, their aircraft. The business environment’s in Panama and the United States
play a key role in shaping economic and accounting policy, therefore impacting the way all
industries, not just airlines, use financial reporting.
II.
Information and Data Collection
A. General
Data and information used in this research report was collected primarily prior to travel to
Panama using internet sources such as articles published by accounting standard setting bodies
and news articles relating to the companies and regulations being studied. The primary search
engine that will be used is Google for articles and policy guidelines. Databases such as Reuters
and Bloomberg will be used to find key financial information on Southwest and Copa Airlines.
The annual reports for both companies will also be pulled from the companies’ websites and
examined thoroughly. Table 3 below shows the search engines and databases used and their
specific URL, followed by Table 4 which shows the specific search criteria/keywords used in
those search engines and databases.
B. Search Engines and Keywords
Database/Search Engine
URL
Information
Google
www.google.com
General Background
Reuters
www.reuters.com
Specific Financial
Bloomberg
www.bloomberg.com
Specific Financial
Table 3: Search Engines & Databases: URLs and Information Type Retrieved
Running Head: Copa vs. Southwest: Lease Accounting
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Keywords
Panama
Panama Business Environment
Lease Accounting IFRS vs. U.S. GAAP
Southwest Airlines Financial Statements
Copa Airlines Financial Statements
U.S. Accounting and Business Environment
Table 4: Keywords Used in Searches from Sources in Table 3
The financial data collected will look at assets, liabilities (short- and long-term), property,
plant, and equipment. Also, any footnote disclosures to the financial statements concerning
lease treatment will be pulled and highlighted as evidence in this report. Financial data and
projections from press releases and recent news articles concerning Copa and Southwest will
also be referenced to provide a closer look at the current financial standing of both companies
and their general business environment. Other information to be gathered includes an overview
of the airline industry as a whole, specifically relating to its volatility, and how differing
accounting regulations concerning leases could have a huge impact of the operating success of
these companies.
C. Personnel Interview at Copa Headquarters
The main goal of the interview at Copa Airlines Headquarters in downtown Panama City,
Panama was to obtain spoken verification from a Copa employee that would either confirm or
dispute the findings of the analytical and quantitative research already conducted. The interview
was conducted with an employee who has some general knowledge of the accounting practices
of Copa Airlines to gain a better insight into the workings of Copa, how the culture of Panama
affects that, and the general business environment as compared and contrasted to that of
Southwest Airlines in the United States.
Lease accounting is the main topic of the interview in Panama. Wikipedia provides another
definition of a lease as, “A lease is a contract calling for the lessee (user) to pay the lessor
(owner) for use of an asset for a specified period of time. A rental agreement is a lease in which
the asset is tangible property. As there are many ways to view how these contracts affect the
balance sheets of both the lessee and lessor, FASB created a standard for US accountants and
businesses.” The interviewee was asked about the method of lease treatment used by Copa
Airlines, and whether they primarily used operating leases to acquire aircraft, or whether the
aircraft were essentially purchased through capital lease agreements. As stated previously, a
report issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Board titled Capital and Operating
Leases defines a capital lease as, “a lease that transfers substantially all the benefits and risks of
ownership to the lessee.”
D. Interview Instrument
While in Panama and during the interviews with employees at Copa Airlines, footage was
documented using a Sony Handcam. This device was used to capture still photos as well as high
quality picture and sound videos during the interview. A similar model Sony Handcam is shown
in the image below.
Running Head: Copa vs. Southwest: Lease Accounting
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Image 1: Sony Handcam: Interview Instrument
E. Profile of Interviewee/s
The interviewee, a top-level manager at Copa Airlines, a former U.S. citizen, was
knowledgeable about basic accounting practices of Copa Airlines and how IFRS and U.S.
GAAP affect those practices. The interviewee stated in the interview that Copa Airlines
finances around sixty percent on its aircrafts, while it leases around 40 percent of its
aircraft. The interviewee stressed how important purchasing agreements are with aircraft
manufacturers due to the limited availability of aircraft available to be built per year.
When leases, aircraft are tested based on wear and tear and usage to determine the useful
life of the aircraft and the lease terms. The images below show the interviewee at Copa
Airlines, as well as a photo of the headquarters of Copa Airlines in downtown Panama
City, Panama.
Image 2: Copa Airlines Manager
Running Head: Copa vs. Southwest: Lease Accounting
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Image 3: Copa Airlines Logo at Copa’ Headquarters – Panama City, Panama
III.
CASE STUDY
F. Copa Airlines Location in Panama
Copa Airlines is headquartered in downtown Panama City, Panama. Panama City lies in the
central portion of Panama on the edge of the Gulf of Panama and at the mouth of the Panama
Canal. The geography of Panama varies greatly from high mountainous regions with dense
vegetation, to rainforests on the border of the Panama Canal, to tropical beaches bordering the
edges of the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Panama is bordered by Costa Rica on its
western border and Columbia on its south-eastern border. Panama is literally the bridge that
connects the continents of North and South America. The map below shows the location of the
country of Panama, as well as its capital where the heart of the operations of Copa Airlines is
located, Panama City. (Geography of Panama)
Map 1: Map of Panama
G. Copa Airlines General Characteristics
Copa Airlines began its operations in Panama in 1947 as the official airline of Panama.
According to Copa Airline’s website in the “Our History” component, Copa started out only
serving three cities in Panama, and twenty years later Copa expanded its reach with its first
international flights into San Jose, Costa Rica, which borders Panama to the South. By 1992,
Copa had continued expanding and created the “Hub of the Americas” at Tocumen International
Airport to connect Panama to other areas of Central America. Since 1992, Copa Airlines began
being traded on the New York Stock Exchange and has formed an important alliance with
Continental Airlines. The Company continues to expand its fleet of aircraft in anticipation of
adding more destinations to its already impressive list of passenger locations. The logo below
can be seen on Copa Aircrafts and is the official emblem of the Company. (Copa Airlines
Website)
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Image 3: Copa Airlines’ Logo
H. Copa Airlines: A Unique Asset of Panama
Copa Airlines is the only airline based out of Panama with international travel
destinations widespread across the Americas. Copa Airlines not only allows for greater
increases in tourism and business in Panama, but also provides jobs for many
Panamanians and people from other Latin American countries. Copa Airlines, following
International Financial Reporting Standards, had annual revenues in 2011 of US 1.82
billion, which significantly increases taxable income to the country of Panama. Copa
Airlines has continued to expand its fleet of aircraft and now operates 79 aircraft with
orders for dozens more to come in future years. (Wiki: Copa Airlines)
I. Southwest Airlines Location
Southwest Airlines, the largest U.S. airline based on domestic passengers boarded according
to the airlines’ website is headquartered out of Love Field in Dallas, Texas. The map below
shows the headquarters’ location in Texas, a state in the south-central part of the United States,
bordering Mexico to the north on the edge of the Rio Grande River.
Map 2: Southwest Airlines Headquarters in Dallas, Texas
J. Southwest Airlines General Characteristics
Southwest Airlines began operations only 42 years ago in 1971, which makes the airline
relatively young compared to Copa Airlines. Southwest has grown to become the largest carrier
of domestic passengers in the United States. Southwest operates over 500 aircraft currently and
serves over 70 cities, making them, by comparison, much larger than Copa Airlines over 70
aircraft. Southwest employs over 37,000 people and operates over 3200 flights a day according
to Southwest.com. Southwest currently brings in almost eight times the revenue of Copa
Airlines at US 15.7 Billion in 2011. (Southwest.com Factsheet)
K. Southwest Airlines: A Unique Asset to the U.S.
Southwest Airlines, like all U.S. based companies, must report their financial statements
using U.S. GAAP, unlike Copa Airlines, which reports using IFRS. This poses significant
differences in accounting practices for the capitalization requirements for the leases of aircrafts
on the books of Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines has set itself apart from other airlines in
the United States by providing low-cost airfares to direct-flight destinations. Impressively in the
world of commercial airlines, Southwest Airlines has marked its 39th consecutive year of profits,
Running Head: Copa vs. Southwest: Lease Accounting
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almost unheard of in an industry that is rocked by the economy and steep fuel prices. This
provides the U.S. and Texas State governments with significant tax income, as well as providing
jobs and affordable air transportation to so many Americans. Southwest has been known
throughout its history for its colorful, one-type ticket aircraft. The logo below sets Southwest
apart from other airlines.
Image 4: Southwest Airlines’ Logo
IV.
Results and Results Impact
A. Copa and Southwest: A Comparison
Copa Airlines and Southwest Airlines follow two different accounting standard setting
bodies’ regulations, as discussed previously. For this reason, the following financial data
was examined and compared between the two companies: total assets, property, plant,
and equipment to total assets, long-term liabilities, and information in the notes to the
financial statements regarding aircraft lease treatment. By comparing these data points of
Southwest and Copa, a general idea can be determined about the implications of each
companies accounting authority on the presentation and treatment of aircraft on the books
of the respective companies. As well as the pertinent financial data of the two
companies, general information concerning the size and operations of Copa and
Southwest was also researched and considered. The graphs below show a comparison of
the two companies’ property, plant, and equipment and liabilities, shown as a percentage
of total assets to normalize the size difference between the two industry leaders.
Running Head: Copa vs. Southwest: Lease Accounting
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Percentage o PPE to Total Assets
76
74
72
70
68
Southwest
66
Copa
64
62
60
2011
2010
2009
Financial Year Ended
Graph 1: Percentage of Property, Plant and Equipment to Total Assets
B. Similarities
Graph 1 illustrates the total percentage of property, plant, and equipment (which would
contain booked aircraft) to total assets. As expected in 2011, Southwest Airlines shows a much
higher percentage of property, plant, and equipment to total assets than Copa Airlines. This
would normally be typical because of the difference requirements for lease capitalization and the
idea that Southwest is required by U.S. GAAP’s strict rules to book more, if not most, of its
aircraft as assets in property, plant and equipment. Surprisingly though, the research shows the
previous two years that Copa Airlines actually had a higher percentage of PPE to total assets than
Southwest. This could be due to Copa’s continued expansion into new territories and Copa’s
significant investments in the “Hub” of Tocumen International Airport. Overall, this graph
shows a striking similarity between Southwest Airlines and Copa Airlines in their financial data.
The percentages listed are within a reasonable range to make these comparable companies.
The table below shows a summary of the similarities between the two airlines in this study:
Southwest and Copa.
Criteria
Southwest
Copa
Initial Business Plan
Started as Small Regional Airline
Started as a small, Panama based
serving only Key Cities
airline, serving only two or three
hubs
PP&E to Total Assets Industry average/Relatively High
Industry Average/ Relatively
High
Future Plans
Continue to Increase Hubs, Fleet,
Continue to Increase Hubs
and Passengers
Internationally
Table 5: Similarities Between Southwest and Copa
This result is important because it shows the similarities among two companies, which due to
significant differences in accounting policy, should theoretically be showing very different
financial percentages. Both companies are able to stay within industry averages because of their
success in respective markets. Both companies are also able to continue to grow in the volatile
Running Head: Copa vs. Southwest: Lease Accounting
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Percentag e of LongTerm Debt to Total
Assets
aircraft industry where so many other airlines exist only through subsidizations through
acquisitions and mergers.
C. Differences
Graph 2 below illustrates a significant and surprising difference between Copa Airlines and
Southwest Airlines. Seemingly, due to the accounting practices of each company, Southwest
would have a higher percentage of long-term liabilities to total assets than Copa Airlines, but as
the graph above shows, Southwest actually maintains a significantly lower percentage than Copa.
This could be due to the greater revenues and profits that Southwest experiences, allowing them
to continuously reduce debt. Another factor that could contribute to this is that Copa Airlines is
still in a high-growth stage where they are incurring more debt, banking on future financial
paybacks.
40
30
20
Southwest
10
Copa
0
2011
2010
2009
Financial Year Ended
Graph 2: Percentage of Long-Term Debt to Total Assets
Chart 6 below is a summary of the differences between Copa Airlines and Southwest Airlines.
The companies operate in similar manners, in general, though Copa Airlines operates more like a
large, international airline, while Southwest continues to stick to its roots as a low-cost, local
airline with easy ticketing and seating.
Criteria
Southwest
Copa
Operations
Operates like a smaller, more
Operates as many large,
personal operation
international commercial
airlines operate
Employees
Much larger operations, much more Larger, more segregated
employees, and much greater
employee base with less
emphasis on treatment and
emphasis on retention and
retention of employees
treatment
Long-term Debt to Total Southwest has lower long-term
Copa has higher long-term
Assets
debt, though continues to abide by debt, probably due to
stricter rules concerning lease
expansion of hubs and fleet
capitalization treatment
Chart 6: Differences Between Copa Airlines and Southwest Airlines
This result is important because it shows the differences in strategy between two very similar
companies based in different nations. It also shows how even though accounting practices may
differ, the success of the respective companies has not been affected by those accounting
practices, and how the lease treatment differences between IFRS and U.S. GAAP don’t have a
significant impact on the companies, or either Southwest’s significant size, income, and goodwill
amongst loyal passengers allow them to counteract better the required accounting practices.
Running Head: Copa vs. Southwest: Lease Accounting
V.
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Summary
This report focused on the general business environment provided by two very different
nations, Panama and the United States, and how those environments impact the operations and
financial data of two national airlines, Copa and Southwest. Data was collected using the
internet as a primary source, prior to travel to Panama, and then using interviews on the premises
of Copa Airlines once in the country of Panama. This data and interview information was
recorded and presented in this report. Copa Airlines, based in Panama, is several years older
than Southwest Airlines, though still a much smaller company than Southwest, the largest
commercial airline per passenger in the United States. The business environments in the U.S.
and Panama have similarities and differences, though the accounting standard setting bodies are
different and have an impact on the way each airline must account for its aircraft. Panama must
abide by the rules of International Financial Reporting Standards, while Southwest must abide by
the rules of U.S. GAAP. The results of this study show, that even though significant differences
exist between the business environments and accounting regulatory bodies, there are still many
similarities between the two companies financial and non-financial data. The differences that
exist are more likely due to company strategy, geography, and leadership, rather than accounting
practices. Southwest Airlines was able to find a valuable niche early on in its corporate
inception and capitalize on that niche. Copa Airlines, while still expanding into new territory
and growing its fleet, has done so at a much slower pace than Southwest Airlines. This research
report could be continued over future years as the United States slowly converges to reporting
using IFRS. The financial data could be compared again to determine the true impact of
accounting practices of the respective companies on the financial accounting performance.
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References
Accounting for Leases in the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2012 from Wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_for_leases_in_the_United_States
Copa Airlines: Our History. Retrieved May 2012 from
http://www.copaair.com/Sites/CC/en/Acerca-de-Copa-Airlines/Pages/Nuestra-Historia.aspx.
Epstein, B. (n.d.). Accounting for Leases IFRS versus GAAP. Retrieved May 2012 from
http://www.ifrsaccounting.com/ifrs-leases.html
Ernst & Young. U.S. GAAP vs. IFRS: The Basics. (2010). Retrieved May 2012 from
http://www.scribd.com/doc/78240915/US-GAAP-vs-IFRS.
Geography of Panama. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2012 from Wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Panama.
Kieso, D., Warfield, T., & Weygandt J. (2010). Intermediate Accounting. 13th Edition, 1121-1128.
Lee, S. Capital and Operating Leases: A Research Report. (2003). Retrieved May 2012 from
http://www.fasab.gov/pdffiles/combinedleasev4.pdf.
Myring, M. & Shortridge, R.T. Defining Principles-Based Accounting Procedures. (2004).
Retrieved May 2012 from
http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2004/804/essentials/p34.htm.
Southwest Airlines Fact Sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2012 from
http://www.southwest.com/html/about-southwest/history/fact-sheet.html
The World Bank. (n.d.). Business Environment Snapshots: Aggregating Data Informing Your
Visions. Retrieved May 2012 from
http://rru.worldbank.org/BESnapshots/Panama/default.aspx.