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USDA direct and guaranteed farm loan programs exhibit significant geographical variation in lending activity. County‐level estimations made using Tobit procedures indicate that use of Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm loan programs is greater in counties with lower per capita income and regions experiencing greater farm financial stress. Use of direct FSA loan programs was lower in counties with fewer private‐sector lenders. Guarantee loan program usage was found to decline when commercial agricultural lenders are absent from the county. FSA loan programs were more highly utilized in counties with an FSA loan service center and in states receiving greater FSA farm loan funding in past years.

Agricultural credit markets are dominated by two institutional retail lender groups, the cooperative Farm Credit System (FCS) and commercial banks. Analysis of farm loans made over the 1991S1993 and 2001S2002 periods indicates that FCS lenders were more likely to serve full‐time commercial farmers and farmers located in regions with less competitive credit markets. In contrast, commercial banks were more likely to serve small, part‐time, and hobby farmers. This segmentation of farm credit markets is consistent with federal regulations requiring the FCS to provide credit to “bona fide” farmers with a basis for credit.

Federal farm credit programs currently administered by the USDA were initiated in the early 1900s to help the farm sector cope with natural disasters, and these programs have continued to evolve. There has been a rich history of research analyzing USDA farm credit programs and the effects they have had on farmers, ranchers, and credit markets. This paper highlights past research and offers a view of the future direction of research on federal farm credit programs.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate a three‐equation model of US commercial bank usage of the Farm Service Agency's (FSA) guaranteed operating loan and interest assistance programs. Also, to identify the key farm and banking variables that affect the decision to use loan guarantees and the volume of loans with interest assistance.

A triple hurdle, three‐equation system is estimated to model three decisions: to participate in the FSA operating loan program; whether to use interest assistance given the decision to participate in the operating loan program; and then the degree of participation in the interest assistance program. Statistical selection is modeled. Data on almost all commercial banks in the USA from 1995 to 2003 are used in the estimation sample.

Statistical selection is statistically significant so selection must be included in the models. Variables reflecting state‐level characteristics such as farm debt servicing ratio, individual bank loan‐to‐asset ratio, bank size and the general guaranteed loan and interest assistance environment are significant in all three equations. Intensity of interest assistance use varies markedly across states.

The interest assistance program has high subsidy costs and is an important source of support for financially marginal farmers. Scant prior research has investigated this program. The present study also shows that modeling interest assistance usage must be embedded in a larger model to give a complete specification.

To identify periods of severe stress, and potentially take action to avoid or dampen their negative effects, lenders and policymakers need accurate and reliable data on US farm debt supply and credit needs. The purpose of this paper is to assess the current availability of information on US farm debt as well as its accuracy.

A review of the farm debt information and survey methodology of the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS).

This manuscript examines several potential issues involving the debt and lender data within ARMS. First, the empirical results indicate that there is an informational break in ARMS beginning in 2000. Second, the paper presents evidence that the overall level of debt reported by USDA is not consistent with information reported by lenders for other regulatory sources. Finally, the paper proposes a modification of the debt question to improve the data collection.

The paper offers an external review of farm debt information in ARMS.

The purpose of this paper is to explore barriers, the mediating role of usability and the moderating effects of self-efficacy and perceived image on consumers’ attitudes toward use of mobile banking (MB) in Iran.

Based on the consumer data collected through a survey, structural equations modeling and path analysis were employed to test the research model.

The results revealed that “system compatibility” was found to be the main factor affecting users’ attitudes toward use of MB. “Resistance” showed a significant negative effect on both ease of use and usefulness. “Perceived usefulness” mediated the relationship between ease of use and users’ attitudes. At last, contrary to self-efficacy which showed no significant effect, perceived image moderated the relationships between usefulness and attitude.

The sample was only composed of MB users and non-users were not studied.

Past studies have seldom examined the role of individual drivers like self-efficacy and social drivers like perceived image as moderating variables in the context of developing countries.

The purpose of this paper is to determine barriers jeopardizing the adoption and usage intention of mobile banking (M-banking) in Pakistan and provide deeper insights to fix such deteriorating factors.

Data was collected in countrywide regional headquarters to mark the utmost generalizability of the results, which included seven largest cities of Pakistan. SEM path analysis was used to analyze data collected from Pakistan’s top 5 bank customers incorporating both users and non-users.

Results revealed that lack of awareness, initial trust and compatibility and perceived risk were the core barriers that stood out as obstacles to the adoption and usage of M-banking in Pakistan. It was also approved that having fixed these core barriers would outcome in existing users’ continuity intent besides raising new users’ inclination toward M-banking.

The study has unveiled the core barriers that have so far impeded the adoption and usage of M-banking. There is not a unified position concerning adoption and usage blockades. Factors differ with contexts, markets, time and kinds of innovations. However, this study is unlike past studies that merely studied students within a specified institute in a restricted jurisdiction. This is the first study to have nationally explored adoption and usage issues; thus, it is anticipated to potentially contribute to the prevailing literature especially in Pakistani context where a few studies prevail, addressing M-banking adoption and usage barriers.

Autonomy has long been established as a critical component of professional work. Traditionally, autonomy has been examined as the extent to which an individual or a professional group controls the decisions and knowledge used in their work. Yet, this framework does not capture the additional work activities that professionals are increasingly expected to perform. Therefore, this chapter argues for theoretically expanding our understanding of professional autonomy by bringing in the concept of articulation work. Using the case of healthcare organisational change, this study assesses how shifts in work practices impact autonomy. Data come from longitudinal ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews conducted at a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit as it underwent significant structural changes. Findings show that professionals were forced to change articulation work strategies in response to new organisational structures. This included changes in the way professionals monitored, assessed, coordinated and collaborated around patient care. Furthermore, these shifts in articulation work held important implications for both workplace and professional autonomy, as professionals responded to changes in their work conditions.

Since the 1960s, many studies have analyzed citizens’ attitudes toward the police. These studies have used a variety of items to measure citizens’ attitudes ( items which vary in their referent (e.g. “the police,” “the police in the neighborhood”) and in their focus (e.g. assessments of overall police performance, assessments of police performance in dealing with specific conditions). Using data obtained through a survey of 298 residents of a midwestern city, compares responses to various questions designed to measure attitudes toward the police. The results show that regardless of the referent or focus, there are few differences in response patterns across questions. Discusses the implications of these findings.