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A number of large banking organizations have substantially broadened the distances at which they are willing to extend commercial loans, but there is also evidence to suggest that this has occurred primarily at the high side of the distribution of lending distances. In this paper, we employ a new source of data to examine the relationship between lending decisions and distance between lender and borrower for that part of the distance distribution where, arguably, most of the competitive interactions among lenders still occur.We report three basic findings: (1) distance operates as a deterrent to lending, even within areas traditionally defined as local markets, (2) distance is more of a deterrent for small banks than for larger organizations, even within these areas, and (3) for those commercial loans made within areas currently treated by regulators as markets, distance has not been declining in importance. Indeed, a preponderance of the evidence suggests that it is becoming, if anything, more of a factor. Possible explanations and policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incompatibility across rival systems can influence incentives to invest in product changes beneficial to the consumer. We investigate this phenomenon in the case of bank ATM networks, where the number of ATM locations is a measure of product quality and surcharge fees serve as an index of incompatibility. Using as a natural experiment the lifting of a surcharge ban in Iowa (and not in neighboring states), we find that the associated increase in incompatibility for Iowa banks caused a substantial increase in the number of ATM locations offered to customers. This effect is larger (in percentage terms) for larger banks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is now recognized that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur following road traffic accidents, but controversy exists about the possibility of PTSD in people sustaining traumatic brain injury (TBI). The present investigation examined the frequency, course and comorbidity of PTSD in children with and without mild TBI after traffic accidents. Method: Interviews were conducted with 43 children and their parents 6 weeks after a traffic accident, assessing PTSD and associated symptomatology. Fourteen children sustained mild TBI and 29 had no TBI. A sub-set (n = 32) was re-interviewed 7 weeks later. Results: Children both with and without TBI reported PTSD symptomatology, but no significant group differences were found. At initial assessment, 74% of children were classified as having clinically significant PTSD symptomatology (86% and 69% in groups with and without TBI, respectively), which was strongly associated with report of general anxiety. At follow-up, PTSD symptomatology decreased, but 44% remained symptomatic (38% and 46% for those with and without TBI, respectively). Child and parental report of PTSD symptomatology were not significantly correlated. Conclusions: Presence of mild TBI did not influence the likelihood of experiencing PTSD symptomatology following a traffic accident. Given that PTSD symptomatology is a common consequence of traffic accidents in children, there is a clear need for provision of systematic assessment and, where appropriate, the implementation of intervention strategies to treat children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of dyslexia, cognitive neuropsychological models provide a useful framework for detailed analyses of an individual's reading performance. However, the application of this work to remediation, especially in children, remains relatively unexplored. This study evaluates a lexical treatment programme that has been used successfully in cases of adult acquired surface dyslexia (e.g., Coltheart & Byng, 1989; Weekes & Coltheart, 1986) in the context of severe mixed developmental dyslexia. The results indicate a significant treatment effect that is stable over time and that generalises to untreated words, to spelling, and to some aspects of sublexical processing. Questions related to the use of adult models and methods for developmental conditions and the usefulness of such models in cases of severe mixed dyslexia are discussed. Issues related to treatment generalisation are also explored, with consideration of generalisation of lexical training to sublexical processes, improvement in reading of untreated words, and the effect of reading interventions on spelling performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of cognitive neuropsychological theories to the design and implementation of treatment programmes remains relatively unexplored, especially in children. In addition, cognitive neuropsychological treatment programmes for dyslexia to date have focused on specific dyslexias such as phonological and surface dyslexia and have ignored the large subgroup of children with severe and multiple impairments of the reading system, those with mixed dyslexia. This study evaluates a sublexical treatment programme designed for a child with dyslexia of the mixed type. The treatment approach is based on sublexical treatment programmes that have been reported in cases of adult acquired dyslexia (Berndt & Mitchum, 1994; De Partz, 1986; Nickels, 1992). The focus of treatment is on nonword reading and includes training in grapheme parsing, grapheme-to-phoneme knowledge, and phoneme blending. Treatment outcome is measured through extensive pre- and post-treatment assessment of sublexical and lexical processing, semantics, and general phonology. The treatment design enables an objective assessment of treatment efficacy, stability of treatment effects over time and generalisability of the treatment to untreated stimuli and related language processes. The study illustrates the validity of the use of models and methods derived from work with adults with acquired impairments to paediatrics, and the usefulness of analytical models in cases of severe mixed dyslexia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on defining banking markets based on the principles recommended in the Merger Guidelines of the United States Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission. Estimation of bank residual supply relationships; Relevance of small scale deposit funds from consumers to the level of interest rates of deposits; Details of supply elasticities.

Focuses on the use of business loans as output in financial institutions in the United States. Implementation of the Community Reinvestment Act; Comparison between the use of deposits and business loans to calculate measures of market structure; Analysis on the price-concentration relationship; Importance of out-of-market lending.

Traditional concerns about concentration in product markets have centered on the social loss associated with the mispricing that occurs when market power is exercised. This paper focuses on a potentially greater loss from market power-a reduction in cost efficiency brought about by the lack of market discipline in concentrated markets. We employ data from the commercial banking industry, which produces very homogeneous products in multiple markets with differing degrees of market concentration. We find the estimated efficiency cost of concentration to be several times larger than the social loss from mispricing as traditionally measured by the welfare triangle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]