Within the Office of Advocacy, the Office of Economic Research (OER) is responsible for compiling and disseminating research and statistics on small businesses. OER assists rural areas businesses primarily by conducting or sponsoring research reports that discussion rural small businesses that and are of value to institutions serving rural areas. Developing data on rural areas is a fundamental part of this research. OER's development of the Business Information Tracking Series, a joint effort with the U.S. Census Bureau, has provided researchers with a powerful tool to track businesses by metropolitan or nonmetropolitan location, among many other variables.
Many of OER's studies can be found on the Office of Advocacy website at www.sba.gov/advo/stats.
Small Business Finance in Rural and Urban Regions - October 1998
This is the text of a presentation given by Chief Counsel for Advocacy Jere W. Glover to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The presentation made three major points regarding rural small businesses. First, research shows that the number of gazelles (firms that have doubled in size over the past four years) are effective at creating new jobs in rural areas. But rural gazelles have a hard time finding both equity and debt financing and are not growing as rapidly as they could.
Second, evidence exists that bank mergers may be hurting rural communities. Currently, the very smallest banks are loaning the greatest percentage of their funds to small firms and farms. These small community banks are also more likely to be active in community affairs and make smaller, low-return loans. When banks merge, small communities may lose the resources that a smaller bank offers.
Finally, the small size of rural businesses and the lack of competition from other banks increase the costs to borrowers. The Office of Advocacy's ACE-Net program could make it possible for rural companies to obtain the equity capital they need and for rural investors to reach a nation-wide market of entrepreneurial firms.
Small Business Lending in Rural America - June 2000
This directory provides data on business lending in rural America by commercial banks filing Community Reinvestment Act reports. The goal of the report strives is to help small firms in rural areas locate likely lending sources and to stimulate bank competition for small firm customers. The study shows that, although 80 percent of all small business lending occurs in urban areas, loans to rural businesses are increasing at a higher rate larger than loans to urban businesses. Average loan sizes to small firms in rural areas have also increased. The report does outline one major problem: 20 percent %of small businesses are located in rural areas and have less , but access to other forms of credit in these areas is less available than small businesses located access in urban areas. and may be insufficient.
Small Farm Lending in the United States - Published Yearly Since 1998
This study ranks all banks in every state and is published individually for each state. It was originally published in 1998 as "Small-Farm-Friendly Banks in the United States." This study provides the data to help family farm owners find the bank most likely to meet their needs. It raises concerns about the supply of credit to small farms, given the decline in the number and value of small farm loans and the number of community banks in the United States.
Small Farm Lending by Bank Holding Companies - Published Yearly Since 1999
This study identifies the multi-billion dollar bank holding companies (BHCs) that are "small-farm-friendly" - those from which small farms have been successful in obtaining loans. In addition, it allows bank holding companies to compare how they are doing relative to their competitors. The 2000 study found that although the largest 57 BHCs held 69.2 percent of all domestic bank assets in June 1999, they accounted for just 12.5 percent of the $48.9 billion in small farm loans (loans under $250,000). In addition, the small farm loan portion of the BHC portfolio shrank over the 1998-1999 period, even though 15 BHCs reported increases in the share of assets in small farm loans.
Small Business Lending in the United States- Published Yearly Since 1994
The "Small Business Lending in the United States" studies rank commercial banks' lending performance to small businesses by state. While these studies do not specifically identify rural data, the main offices of banks are listed. This information could be used by rural small businesses to identify banks located near their area. In general, banks that are located in rural areas could be assumed to be likely to lend to rural small businesses.
Small Business and the Changing Structure of the Livestock and Agricultural Industries - Draft February 2000
This draft study summarizes previous literature on the structure of agricultural markets, studying the livestock industry in particular. In addition, it analyzes agricultural statistics from the Office of Advocacy databases. The study concludes that small firms are being squeezed out of the meat products industry and that processors are getting larger and gaining a monopoly position in large sections of agriculture.
Rural and Urban Areas by Firm Size, 1990-1995- March 1999
This report provides an analysis of the growth of employer firms, measured by the number of business locations and employment, in urban and rural areas. It contains the latest available data on urban and rural business locations and employment by major industry and state. The report also details the changing importance or share of the economy that small firms have in rural and urban areas. From 1990 to 1995, the number of urban establishments and the level of employment increased, while rural employment increased only slightly and the number of establishments declined.
Information courtesy of the Small Business Administration.
