Faculty of Social Sciences University of Tehran Woman in Development & Politics 2538-3124 21 4 2023 12 22 Analyzing the Behavioral Intention of Rural Women Members of Local Micro-Credit Funds in Lorestan Province towards Self-Employment Analyzing the Behavioral Intention of Rural Women Members of Local Micro-Credit Funds in Lorestan Province towards Self-Employment 943 973 92570 10.22059/jwdp.2023.356068.1008321 FA Fatemeh Movahdian M.Sc. Student of Rural Development, Department of Agriculture Economics and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran. 0009-0007-5745-0431 Saeed Gholamrezai Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran. Fatemeh Rahimi-Feyzabad Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran. Journal Article 2023 02 27 Rural women's employment can be one of the ways to generate income, reduce the pressure on resources, and as a result, rural development. Meanwhile, the cooperative sector can play a significant role in the employment of rural women. But a vital issue that is important in this regard is the factors that influence the decision and intention of rural women who are members of local micro funds to start investing and working in cooperatives. In this regard, this research was designed to investigate factors affecting the behavioral intention of rural women members of<strong> </strong>Lorestan Province Micro Credit Funds towards self-employment in Cooperatives. The statistical population consisted of all rural women members of<strong> </strong>Lorestan Province Micro Credit Funds (N= 1087) who sampling of multistage quota proportional to the sample size through Krejcie and Morgan sampling table resulted in to select of 307 samples. Data collection in this study was conducted using a researcher-made questionnaire. After preparing the questionnaire and confirming its validity by the experts panel, its reliability was confirmed through a pilot study by calculating Cronbach's alpha values for the variables investigated. Structural equation modeling was used to determine factors influencing rural women's intention to self-employment in cooperatives through AMOS₂₄. The results revealed that the interests variable has the highest direct impact on rural women's intention to self-employment in cooperatives and self-efficacy has the highest indirect influence on rural women's intention to self-employment in cooperatives. Rural women's employment can be one of the ways to generate income, reduce the pressure on resources, and as a result, rural development. Meanwhile, the cooperative sector can play a significant role in the employment of rural women. But a vital issue that is important in this regard is the factors that influence the decision and intention of rural women who are members of local micro funds to start investing and working in cooperatives. In this regard, this research was designed to investigate factors affecting the behavioral intention of rural women members of<strong> </strong>Lorestan Province Micro Credit Funds towards self-employment in Cooperatives. The statistical population consisted of all rural women members of<strong> </strong>Lorestan Province Micro Credit Funds (N= 1087) who sampling of multistage quota proportional to the sample size through Krejcie and Morgan sampling table resulted in to select of 307 samples. Data collection in this study was conducted using a researcher-made questionnaire. After preparing the questionnaire and confirming its validity by the experts panel, its reliability was confirmed through a pilot study by calculating Cronbach's alpha values for the variables investigated. Structural equation modeling was used to determine factors influencing rural women's intention to self-employment in cooperatives through AMOS₂₄. The results revealed that the interests variable has the highest direct impact on rural women's intention to self-employment in cooperatives and self-efficacy has the highest indirect influence on rural women's intention to self-employment in cooperatives. https://jwdp.ut.ac.ir/article_92570_6d28b11b2c6f4dc738071435ad11f799.pdf