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Who collaborates with the Soviets? Financial distress and technology transfer during the Great Depression

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  • Jiang, Jerry
  • Weber, Jacob P.

Abstract

We provide evidence that financial distress induces firms to sell their technology to foreign competitors. To do so, we construct a novel, spatial panel dataset by individually researching and locating U.S. firms who signed Technology Transfer Agreements (TTAs) with the Soviet Union during the 1920s and 1930s in various U.S. counties. By relating the number of TTAs signed in each county to the number of bank failures, we establish a significant, positive relationship between financial distress and the number of firms signing TTAs with the Soviet Union. Our findings suggest that banking panics may create opportunities for foreign countries to acquire affected firms’ technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiang, Jerry & Weber, Jacob P., 2025. "Who collaborates with the Soviets? Financial distress and technology transfer during the Great Depression," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:exehis:v:95:y:2025:i:c:s0014498324000639
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2024.101637
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Linda Yueh & Linda Yueh & John Van Reenen, 2012. "Why has China grown so fast? The role of international technology transfer," Economics Series Working Papers 592, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    2. Gary Richardson & William Troost, 2009. "Monetary Intervention Mitigated Banking Panics during the Great Depression: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from a Federal Reserve District Border, 1929-1933," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 117(6), pages 1031-1073, December.
    3. Nanda, Ramana & Nicholas, Tom, 2014. "Did bank distress stifle innovation during the Great Depression?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(2), pages 273-292.
    4. Andrew J. Jalil, 2015. "A New History of Banking Panics in the United States, 1825-1929: Construction and Implications," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(3), pages 295-330, July.
    5. Mary Eschelbach Hansen & Nicolas L. Ziebarth, 2017. "Credit Relationships and Business Bankruptcy during the Great Depression," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 228-255, April.
    6. Kris James Mitchener & Gary Richardson, 2019. "Network Contagion and Interbank Amplification during the Great Depression," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(2), pages 465-507.
    7. Michela Giorcelli, 2019. "The Long-Term Effects of Management and Technology Transfers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(1), pages 121-152, January.
    8. Charles W. Calomiris & Joseph R. Mason, 2003. "Consequences of Bank Distress During the Great Depression," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(3), pages 937-947, June.
    9. Davison, Lee K. & Ramirez, Carlos D., 2014. "Local banking panics of the 1920s: Identification and determinants," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 164-177.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Banking panic; Technology assistance; Know-how diffusion; Industrialization; Industrial policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • N6 - Economic History - - Manufacturing and Construction
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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