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...

This article offers some perspective on the progress and challenges of managing catastrophic weather risk in lower income countries through the use of index insurance. Innovations in insurance for natural disaster risk are critically important to help the rural poor improve their lives and to...

This paper describes different types of rural microfinance institutions, and examines their comparative advantages as well as related challenges to and strategies for deepening rural financial systems. The focus is not about which type of institution is better or worse for a particular target...

This paper describes different types of rural microfinance institutions, and examines their comparative advantages as well as related challenges to and strategies for deepening rural financial systems. The focus is not about which type of institution is better or worse for a particular target...

This article offers some perspective on the progress and challenges of managing catastrophic weather risk in lower income countries through the use of index insurance. Innovations in insurance for natural disaster risk are critically important to help the rural poor improve their lives and to...

Changes within the financial services industry have raised concerns about the ability of agricultural banks to adequately fund local rural development. To address these concerns, the Gramm‐Leach‐Bliley Act of 1999 broadened agricultural bank access to Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) financing....

Purpose – For many farm families and operators across the OECD countries, off-farm income has become a major determinant of their well-being. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential role of off-farm employment as a risk management tool among farm operators....

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine if a single dominant measure defines farm size and farm performance consistently over a ten-year time period, or if alternative measures are needed. The paper also seeks to determine the correlation between farm size and farm performance and...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the levels of inaccuracy associated with three different premium estimation methods, one of which attempts to mimic the protocol currently used by the Risk Management Agency (RMA), on the actuarial performance of the US crop...