The guaranteed lending progams of the Small Business Administration (SBA) are large and growing rapidly. The SBA's fiscal year 2009 Performance Budget call for 28 billion (Dollar) in guaranteed loans for small businesses - a new record for the agency. Some critics of SBA programs suggest they do...

Information problems in small enterprise credit markets can result in a market equilibrium characterized by credit rationing. These information problems are potentially more severe during sharp economic downturns such as the recent Great Recession. Government interventions to alleviate credit...