Search

Copyright of Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural is the property of Sociedade Brasileira de Economia e Sociologia Rural and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The SHG Bank linkage programme has enabled access to formal credit to a large segment of the rural poor, the majority of whom were women. Formal rural financial institutions like commercial banks, RRBs, co-operatives banks, and other agencies like NGOs and MFIs are actively involved in the SHG bank linkage programme. Hence the present study was undertaken to analyze the share of credit disbursement by various institutional agencies to the rural poor and to understand the importance of microfinance in this reference. The scope of rural credit is wide as it consists of not only agriculture credit but also lending to the priority sector. As a result, the region-wise disbursement of rural credit was studied and analyzed to find out the trends in the growth of priority sector advances as compared to the total bank credit outstanding over the last decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The effectiveness of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in rescuing poor borrowers from "clutches of" moneylenders has been a much-debated topic over the past few decades. This paper aims to contribute by presenting a model of competition between a socially motivated MFI and profit-maximizing moneylenders when market segmentation exists. Design/methodology/approach: A principal–agent model is used to characterize equilibrium conditions under scenarios where only moneylenders operate, only MFI operates and when both co-exist to pose comparative results effectively. Findings: The authors find unambiguous benefits arising when a welfare-maximizing MFI enters the market. However, there are benefits to having local agents like moneylenders on the ground who also have informational advantages. Originality/value: To the best of authors' knowledge, this study is the first to evaluate the competition between MFI and moneylenders under the framework of captive and noncaptive segments with a mandatory savings requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability of rural credit cooperatives is closely linked to regional economic development in China's vast rural areas. This study aims to investigate how rural credit cooperatives in China can enhance their stability and achieve high-quality development using panel data from 87 county rural credit cooperatives in Shaanxi Province from 2008 to 2016. The Cov-AHP is employed to build an evaluation system and the effect of inclusive finance on the risk-taking capacity of rural credit cooperatives is analysed using a fixed effects model. Results demonstrate that inclusive finance can improve the risk-taking capacity of rural credit cooperatives and enhance their stability. This effect is more significant for rural credit cooperatives with a larger share of corporate shares, although property rights reform and the launch of community banks may weaken this effect. This study recommends vigorously promoting the development of inclusive finance, improving the operational mode of rural commercial banks, strengthening the corporate governance system of rural credit cooperatives, and enhancing the level of financial services for agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. These implications are important for promoting the further reform of rural credit cooperatives, especially in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural is the property of Sociedade Brasileira de Economia e Sociologia Rural and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Informal sources of credit prevail in the rural areas of developing countries, primarily catering to farm households - hence, this study was conducted to analyze the determinants of rural credit access decisions among small-scale rice farmers in Calintaan, Occidental Mindoro, the Philippines, using binary logistic regression. A total of 74 randomly selected farm household heads who have direct supervision in rice farming activities participated in the study. The binary logistic regression results indicated that gender, age, and education were the significant determinants of the rural credit decision. Informal sources of credit play a vital role in promoting the small-scale agricultural productivity of rice and they serve as the immediate source of agricultural financing when there is a shortage or absence of accessible formal credit providers. In light of the findings, this research recommends other factors, working sectors, and settings for future research. Some policy recommendations were also suggested, such as the formulation of a rural credit policy that would fit the socioeconomic status of the farmers and a government policy to bridge the gap between small-scale rice farmers and formal credit institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice agriculture provides millions of households with a steady source of income and employment. However, for small and marginal farmers, the exorbitant cost of production inputs presents a formidable obstacle in their pursuit of acquiring it. Credit constraints are a significant impediment to the adoption of agricultural technologies. Therefore, this paper identifies the determinant of access to rural credit and its impact on Boro rice production technology adoption in Bangladesh using cross-sectional data. The study employed probit regression, propensity score matching (PSM), inverse probability weighting (IPW), and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) techniques. The findings indicate that age, family size, working members, and involvement in safety net programs negatively and significantly influence access to rural credit, while earning persons in the family, literacy, rice farming experience, remittance, and total income positively influence access to rural credit. The positive and significant ATT values suggested that access to rural credit has a positive and significant effect on technology adoption and the level of technology use. It was also found that access to rural credit has a heterogeneous effect. In particular, non-government organization (NGO) credit has a more significant impact on technology adoption than formal bank credit. Access to credit and the adoption of agricultural technologies can be greatly improved with the help of a location-specific rural credit policy and strong monitoring from the formal banking sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insufficient capital investment coupled with limited land resources significantly limits cultivated land use efficiency (CLUE). China's rural credit policy system is currently growing, yet the impact of farmer-level credit on CLUE remains understudied. Therefore, this study investigated whether rural credit enhances CLUE by using the China Rural Revitalization Survey (CRRS) data. It explored the impact and mechanism of rural credit on CLUE using least squares regression and mediation models. According to our results, the average CLUE level for farmers in the study area was 0.661, which still had much room for improvement compared with Japan, which also has a large population but limited land. In addition, access to rural credit positively affected CLUE, with cultivated land scale-up and technological applications mediating the rural-credit-driven increase in CLUE. Further analyses of the rural credit allocation mode (RCAM) indicated that farmers' use of credit for investment in agricultural production factors boosted CLUE more than non-farming allocation of credit funds. These findings suggest that the government should continue to increase support for rural credit while improving the monitoring mechanism for credit allocation to prevent rural credit de-farming from hindering CLUE improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While cities piloting China's Social Credit System attract attention, rural areas in China are experimenting with reputation-based credit systems called 'banks of virtue'. These local institutions unlock cheap loans and other benefits for citizens who prove virtuous character. Based on empirical data, this article investigates how banks of virtue combine techniques of metrics known from capitalist credit systems with an inherently localized and personal evaluation procedure. As hybrid forms of organizing access to credit, this article argues, banks of virtue offer an alternative, rural answer to the 'right to credit' that emerged in debates concerning capitalist economies. While they combine multiple goals of the national rural revitalization and Social Credit System strategies, such as the creation of a 'civilized' rural society and the allocation of credit to small businesses and households, their reliance on citizen participation casts doubts over their capacity to achieve these goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the long‐ and short‐run effects of rural credit on the gross value added of agricultural output in Brazil. We apply the dynamic vector error correction model (VECM) to the estimation and testing. The main finding is that there is a positive long‐run relationship between agricultural sector production and loans from financial institutions to the agricultural sector. The long‐run elasticity estimated was 0.44, implying that an increase of 1% in rural credit leads to a 0.44% increase in the agricultural sector's GDP. This result supports the policy of rural credit as a crucial institutional instrument to strengthen the agricultural sector and as an important factor to boost the country's economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Rural credit policies have a strong impact on food production and food security. The attribution of credit policies to agricultural production is one of the main problems preventing the guarantee of agricultural expansion. In this work, we conduct family typology analysis applied to a set of research data to characterize different regions. Through genetic programming, a model was developed using user-defined terms to identify the importance and priority of each criterion used for each region. Access to credit results in economic growth and provides greater income for family farmers, as observed by the results obtained in the model for the Sul region. The Nordeste region indicates that the cost criterion is relevant, and according to previous studies, the Nordeste region has the highest number of family farming households and is also the region with the lowest economic growth. An important aspect discovered by this research is that the allocation of rural credit is not ideal. Another important aspect of the research is the challenge of capturing the degree of diversity across different regions, and the typology is limited in its ability to accurately represent all variations. Therefore, it was possible to characterize how credit is distributed across the country and the main factors that can influence access to credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: Constrained input use and lower productivity of rural establishments may be associated with restricted or concentrated access to financial resources, especially in developing countries. Meanwhile, agricultural activity entails risks associated with the volatility of net cash flows and external events, which may discourage riskier but higher return investments (e.g. technology). As rural credit can alleviate the former, and rural insurance may help alleviate the latter, the combination of both policies might endorse each other. The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of rural credit and rural insurance policies with respect to productivity and crop area, in São Paulo state, Brazil, using farmer's microdata from two surveys realized in 2007/08 and 2016/17. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses propensity score matching and the entropy balance approaches in a complementary way. This study compared three policy treatments – rural credit, rural insurance and both policies combined, against establishments that received neither one. The analysis considered sugarcane, grain and grape crops separately and employed farmer's microdata. Moreover, the analysis was stratified into two categories: establishments owned by family farmers and those that did not. Findings: Rural credit policy is related to higher productivity and larger cultivated area for grains and only to larger area for grape crops in the last analyzed period (2016/17). Rural insurance, as a unique policy or combined with credit, is related to higher productivity and cultivated areas, for all analyzed crops, only in the second period (2016/17), as the policy became more accessible to farmers. Heterogeneity regarding crops and farmers might influence the effectiveness of these policies. Despite rural insurance being related to a better performance regarding the outcome variables, it still reaches a small share of farmers, especially when combined with credit. Originality/value: Many studies about the effectiveness of rural credit in Brazil have been conducted throughout the years, while there have been fewer studies regarding rural insurance since it became an important policy in the mid-2000s. However, few studies have conducted an analysis comparing its individual and interactive influences, with such level of disaggregation, on a farm-level database, considering the heterogeneity of the data and the different categories of farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista em Agronegócio e Meio Ambiente is the property of Revista em Agronegocio e Meio Ambiente and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente is the property of Universidade Federal do Parana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Arenal.Revista de Historia de las Mujeres is the property of Arenal. Revista de Historia de las Mujeres and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In 2008, the Brazilian government made the concession of rural credit in the Amazon conditional upon stricter requirements as an attempt to curb forest clearings. This article studies the impact of this innovative policy on deforestation. Difference-in-differences estimations based on a panel of municipalities show that the policy change led to a substantial reduction in deforestation, mostly in municipalities where cattle ranching is the leading economic activity. The results suggest that the mechanism underlying these effects was a restriction in access to rural credit, one of the main support mechanisms for agricultural production in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Diversitas Journal is the property of Diversitas Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural is the property of Sociedade Brasileira de Economia e Sociologia Rural and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Fluctuations In Agricultural Production And The Lag Associated With The Production Crops Create The Demand For Credit. In Assam Though The Formal Sources Of Credit Have Been Expanding Their Networks Over The Years The Amount Of Formal Credit Advanced By Them Is Not Adequate. Without Flexible Terms Of Formal Credit, People Tend To Take Loans From Informal Sources. The Informal Credit Sources Through The Informational Advantage Smoothly Operate Their Functions In The Rural Areas. Although The Informal Sector Fulfills The Need Of Credit But It Is Not Desirable From The Point Of View Of Agricultural Growth. In These Circumstances, The Micro Finance Plays An Important Role In Reducing The Gap Between Demand And Supply Of Formal Credit In Rural Credit Market Of Assam. The Objective Of This Study Is To Examine The Present Status Of Formal Rural Credit Market Of Assam. The Study Is Also Focused In Analyzing The Challenges Of Formal Credit Market Of Assam. This Study Is Mainly Done On The Qualitative Basis But Some Quantitative Data Is Added To Justify The Qualitative Arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to elaborate the theoretical mechanism of rural credit input affecting the urban–rural income gap from the perspective of labor transfer, and use a dynamic panel mediation model to test the transmission mechanism of rural credit input affecting the urban–rural income gap through labor transfer, so as to provide an empirical basis for narrowing the urban–rural income gap in China. Design/methodology/approach: This paper constructs a mechanism analysis framework for rural credit input affecting the urban–rural income gap. From the perspective of resource allocation and labor transfer, the authors expound the transmission path of rural credit input to the urban–rural income gap and analyze the theoretical mechanism of rural credit input that affects the urban–rural income gap through labor transfer. Based on this, this paper uses the dynamic panel mediation model to test the effect relationship between rural credit input, labor transfer and urban–rural income gap in 31 provinces of China from 2009 to 2018. Findings: In theory, increasing rural credit input can ease the financial constraints on the development of "agriculture, rural areas and farmers" and provide capital accumulation for the development of rural non-agricultural industries. The development of rural non-agricultural industries can provide more jobs for rural surplus labor, thereby increasing the labor rate of return in rural areas, and ultimately conducive to narrowing the urban–rural income gap. Further, increasing rural credit input can improve the development level of rural non-agricultural industries, thereby promoting the transfer of agricultural labor. At the same time, rural credit input based on the intermediary variable of labor transfer has a significant inhibitory effect on the urban–rural income gap. Research limitations/implications: This study mainly focuses on the relationship between rural credit input, labor transfer and urban–rural income gap, so it is impossible to use micro-level data to further verify the impact of rural credit input on labor transfer. At the same time, the collection of indicators of rural credit investment in the China Financial Yearbook only started in 2009, which limited the number of samples to a certain extent. Practical implications: This paper assumes that the economy is mainly composed of urban and rural economic sectors. Therefore, labor can flow freely between urban and rural areas. However, in the near future, China's rural secondary and tertiary industries may develop rapidly, especially with the in-depth implementation of rural revitalization strategy, it is very important to pay attention to the current situation of rural industrial structure and incorporate the factors such as rural industrial structure into the existing model. Social implications: This study attempts to provide a new perspective and inspiration for rural credit input, the optimal allocation of labor force and narrowing the urban–rural income gap under China's rural revitalization strategy. Originality/value: Based on the analysis framework of neoclassical economic theory, this paper uses the constant elasticity of substitution production function to establish an urban–rural two-sector nested model that includes credit supply variables and analyzes the mechanism of rural credit input affecting the urban–rural income gap through labor transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A green economy has an impact on improving welfare, but it takes continuous efforts to achieve it from various fields. Contribution in the context of banking on a small scale is one of the initiatives that can show participation in achieving a green economy. This study aims to explore people's behavior in financial transactions and analyze the practice of rural credit banks in encouraging the achievement of a green economy through the National Financial Inclusive Strategy (NFIS) program despite the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used quantitative approaches; observations were conducted at a certain time by collecting data taken directly as a complement to this study, as well as taking questionnaire data involving 363 samples and analyzing them using the structural equation model (SEM). The result is that green economic support is found in using paper for fewer savings transactions compared to branchless banking with conventional savings transactions. The high number of residents exposed to COVID-19 does not affect branchless banking. In addition, the use of branchless banking can show the penetration of financial literacy in the community. The results of the path analysis explain that perceived ease of use (7.468) and perceived usefulness (2.152) have an influence on attitude; intention is greatly influenced by attitude (15.357); and actual usage is influenced by intention (11.682). This research has specific implications for the Magelang City Rural Bank (MCRB), which needs to conduct market research to find out the potential of branchless banking that is specifically needed by the people of Magelang. Branchless banking innovation needs to be strengthened by presenting easy-to-understand and easy-to-use applications to improve the attitude of the Magelang people in adopting branchless banking applications and using them sustainably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Redes (1414-7106) is the property of Associacao Pro-Ensino em Santa Cruz do Sul - APESC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Gestão e Desenvolvimento (18075436) is the property of Universidade Feevale and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Id on Line. Revista de Psicologia is the property of Id on Line Revista Multidisciplinar e de Psicologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Paranaense de Desenvolvimento is the property of Revista Paranaense de Desenvolvimento and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural is the property of Sociedade Brasileira de Economia e Sociologia Rural and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In China's rural credit system, the problem of credit constraints is prominent. Due to the imperfect credit market, a large number of rural residents have credit constraints. Rural credit constraint is a serious problem restricting China's rural economic development. Aimed at solving the rural credit constraints, this paper makes an optimization analysis on the rural credit system and loan decision-making. To more reasonably evaluate customers' borrowing ability, the credit risk based on farmers' data on the big data platform is evaluated in this paper. The stacked denoising autoencoder network is improved by adopting the deep learning framework to improve the accuracy of credit evaluation. For improving the loan decision-making ability of rural credit system, a loan optimization strategy based on multiobjective particle swarm optimization algorithm is proposed. The simulation results show that the optimization ability, speed, and stability of the proposed algorithm have achieved good results in dealing with the loan portfolio decision-making problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Lack of access to credit is commonly held responsible for slow agricultural and rural development in low- and middle-income countries. This paper aims to investigate the contribution of demand- and supply-side factors, particularly the role of risk rationing, on credit application and uptake in the case example of Kyrgyzstan. Design/methodology/approach: Toward this aim, the study explores the determinants of credit behavior of 1,738 Kyrgyz sample farm households from 2013 to 2016 waves of the nationally representative "Life in Kyrgyzstan" (LIK) dataset along a hierarchical regression model, differentiating between factors influencing individual demand for credit and factors influencing supply for credit. Findings: The results of our analysis indicate the relative importance of demand-side factors for credit applications, reflecting farmers' perceived risk of credit default and loss of collateral. Meanwhile, supply-side factors, such as real credit constraints and collateral requests, have a stronger influence on credit uptake rates and overall loan sums. These findings highlight the role of risk rationing for agricultural investment, suggesting a stronger focus of development policy on improving risk-sharing mechanisms for farmers, e.g. by developing the agricultural insurance sector. Originality/value: The paper contributes novel evidence on the role of risk rationing in shaping the demand for formal credits for increasing agricultural and rural investment in low-income transition economies. Previous research has mostly focused on the role of credit supply, thus underrating the potential contribution of individual risk attitude, risk experience and risk sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nova Economia is the property of Nova Economia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of RAE: Revista de Administração de Empresas is the property of Fundacao Getulio Vargas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper studies the cross-regional variation of interest rates in China in the 1930s. Based on county-level data from the Buck (1941) rural surveys, we examine factors that may have influenced rural interest rates in pre-1949 China. Since the quality of institutions that define property rights and facilitate contract enforcement is important for such transactions as land tenancy arrangements, we treat land tenancy rate (or percentage of owner-farmers) as a proxy for institutional quality. Contrary to the popular belief among historians and economists that usury or high interest rates caused persistent poverty, we find that while the monopoly-exploitation hypothesis has little explanatory power, a region's institutional quality and income level are persistent and significant determinants of interest rates. Thus, poverty is a key driver of high rates of interest. Economic growth and the development of market institutions are crucial for lowering high interest rates and combating usury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study is conducted to evaluate the impact of rural credit on farm household income and food security. Design/methodology/approach: A multistage random sampling procedure is implemented to select 180 (82 credit user and 98 non-credit user) households from Kurfa Chele district, eastern Ethiopia. The Propensity Score Matching technique is used to estimate the impact of credit utilization on the welfare indicators. Findings: The results of the econometric model estimation show that participation in the rural credit program was positively influenced by a household's educational status, family size, voluntary saving and participation in training related to credit and saving. On the contrary, livestock holding and extension advice were found to negatively affect participation. Furthermore, participation in rural credit program is found to increase annual income by 59% and calorie intake by 21%. These are significant results implying that participation in the rural credit and saving program improved household welfare in the study area. Originality/value: This study is important because it shows the welfare impact of making credit program available to potential users in the study area. Moreover, for effectiveness of the credit program it is necessary to target households with relatively larger family size and those with relatively better education (to induce change among the wider farming community). It is also essential to focus on the saving behavior of the program beneficiaries and enhancing the management system by ensuring that sufficient development agents are in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Contabilidade & Controladoria is the property of Revista de Contabilidade & Controladoria RC & C and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Estudos Sociedade e Agricultura is the property of Revista Estudos Sociedade e Agricultura and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Credit was scarce and expensive in colonial India. Existing explanations assume a lack of market competition let moneylenders charge high interest rates. The article challenges this view and constructs a novel framework to explain the rationality and strategies of lenders. Using new evidence from the Madras Presidency, the study finds that the interconnected issues of climate volatility and enforcement costs shaped the supply and prices of credit. Climate volatility and uncertain seasonal incomes led to high default rates. Enforcement of contracts through courts was expensive and not appropriate where there was no wilful breach of contract. Moneylenders responded to risk in innovative ways. They rationed credit and imposed inflexible enforcement terms in the dry regions that faced higher climatic risk, but used contracts and flexible pricing strategies in the irrigated zones where risks were lower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's rural poor -- small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers and other marginalized sections of rural population - face exploitative conditions today. Since Indian independence policy initiatives have been taken to mitigate their sufferings through interventions in the rural credit market by the Indian state. In this paper we undertake an evaluation of these policies in altering the sources of rural debt primarily from non-institutional to institutional sources till the economic reforms in early 1991 and then followed by reversal in trends: return of money lenders and land lords in the rural credit market. A counter argument is provided to the generally advanced argument that the implementation failure of priority sector lending led to economic reforms. Our argument is a willful design was erected by rural elite in pursuit of helping industrial capital to prepare ground for international capital to persuade Indian state to join the globalization process. Besides other data, we bring in primary data on indebtedness of 255 HHs of small and marginal farmers and landless workers in 10 villages across five blocks of district Mansa and 532 NREGA beneficiaries in 47 villages of Hoshiarpur, Muktsar and Amritsar districts (Punjab) to show that with the withdrawal of the state, money lenders and landlords have returned to the rural credit market in regions/areas inhabited by low caste and land poor people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Eutopía: Revista de Desarrollo Económico Territorial is the property of Eutopia: Revista de Desarrollo Economico Territorial and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Geo UERJ is the property of Editora da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EdUERJ) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)