The importance of check-cashing businesses to the unbanked: racial/ethnic differences

The roughly 9.5 percent of all U.S. families that are without some type of transaction account (unbanked) are disproportionately represented by minorities. The unbanked often must rely on alternative ways to carry out basic financial transactions such as cashing payroll checks and paying bills. This study analyzes unique survey data and finds that a consumer's decision to patronize check-cashing businesses is jointly made with the decision to be unbanked. For the unbanked, these businesses are an important source for financial services. Attributes that contribute to these decisions, however, vary for each racial/ethnic group. Latent preference effects are also observed to influence this joint decision for Blacks and Hispanics. These findings may explain in part why the provisions of the Debt Collection Improvement Act (DCIA) of 1996 have not been more successful in bringing unbanked federal benefits recipients into the financial mainstream. ; Consumer participation in mainstream financial markets can improve their ability to build assets and create wealth, protect them from theft and discriminatory, predatory or unsavory lending practices, and may promote economic stability and vitality in the communities where they reside. By more fully understanding a consumer's financial decisions, policies can be better directed to improve the effectiveness of legislation such as the DCIA of 1996 in encouraging mainstream financial market participation.Nonbank financial institutions ; Debt management ; Checks

Grass tetany

Grass tunny is a metabolic disorder of ruminant animals that results from a deficiency of available Mg in the diet. The etiology of tetany is complicated by the many soil, plant, and animal factors that influence Mg availability to plants and in tuns to animals. This review will highlight some of these factors and provide management information which will minimize the impact of this disorder. Only the most recent and pertinent literature citations are included. A more detailed bibliographic list is available from the authors

A Pragmatic Assessment of Government Support for Organic Agriculture in Ireland

Drawing on a pragmatic approach, this paper provides an analysis of governmental support for organic farming in Ireland. There are varying levels of encouragement and programmes provided to farmers in their conversion from conventional to organic production, and in their maintenance of organic production. Support policies vary across regions and are linked to European Union legislation, thus it is challenging to document the many types of support in place. This research investigates relevant technical, financial, and policy support available to organic farmers in Ireland. This exploratory study develops an assessment of Ireland within eight key categories of organic agricultural support: leadership, policy, research, technical support, financial support, marketing and promotion, education and information, and future developments. Information and data from the Irish Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF), the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc), and other governmental and semi-governmental agencies were utilized to assess the level of support in each category. Following the pragmatic approach, this assessment provides key findings which allow policymakers, organizations and citizens to better understand the current situation and set a path for the future development of organic farming in Ireland