Chapter 10 Agricultural finance: Credit, credit constraints, and consequences

The theory and methods used to analyze the market, management, and policy elements of agricultural finance draw substantially on modern finance concepts, but with significant tailoring to the unique characteristics of agricultural sectors throughout the world. Both developed and developing economies are considered in this chapter. Discussed in detail are lender-borrower relationships, financial growth and intertemporal analysis, portfolio theory and financial risk, investment analysis, the financial structure of agriculture, and private and public sector suppliers of financial capital. Other key issues involve the linkages between investment and finance, and the extent of credit rationing in agriculture.