IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/japmet/v33y2018i1p16-28.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The evolution of scale economies in US banking

Author

Listed:
  • David C. Wheelock
  • Paul W. Wilson

Abstract

Continued consolidation of the US banking industry and a general increase in the size of banks have prompted some policymakers to consider policies that discourage banks from getting larger, including explicit caps on bank size. However, limits on the size of banks could entail economic costs if they prevent banks from achieving economies of scale. This paper presents new estimates of returns to scale for US banks based on nonparametric, local‐linear estimation of bank cost, revenue, and profit functions. We report estimates for both 2006 and 2015 to compare returns to scale some 7 years after the financial crisis and 5 years after enactment of the Dodd–Frank Act with returns to scale before the crisis. We find that a high percentage of banks faced increasing returns to scale in cost in both years, including most of the 10 largest bank holding companies. Also, while returns to scale in revenue and profit vary more across banks, we find evidence that the largest four banks operate under increasing returns to scale.

Suggested Citation

  • David C. Wheelock & Paul W. Wilson, 2018. "The evolution of scale economies in US banking," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 16-28, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:japmet:v:33:y:2018:i:1:p:16-28
    DOI: 10.1002/jae.2579
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.2579
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/jae.2579?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wheelock, David C. & Wilson, Paul W., 2001. "New evidence on returns to scale and product mix among U.S. commercial banks," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 653-674, June.
    2. Racine, Jeff & Li, Qi, 2004. "Nonparametric estimation of regression functions with both categorical and continuous data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 119(1), pages 99-130, March.
    3. Jianqing Fan & Theo Gasser & Irène Gijbels & Michael Brockmann & Joachim Engel, 1997. "Local Polynomial Regression: Optimal Kernels and Asymptotic Minimax Efficiency," Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Springer;The Institute of Statistical Mathematics, vol. 49(1), pages 79-99, March.
    4. White, Halbert, 1980. "A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(4), pages 817-838, May.
    5. Davidson, Russell & MacKinnon, James G., 1993. "Estimation and Inference in Econometrics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195060119, December.
    6. Miguel A. Delgado & Juan Mora, 1995. "On asymptotic inferences in non-parametric and semiparametric models with discrete and mixed regressors," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 19(3), pages 435-467, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bossone, Biagio, 2021. "Commercial bank seigniorage and the macroeconomy," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Dapeng Liu & Pascal Courty, 2022. "Some economics of movie exhibition: increasing returns and Imax revenue premium," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 46(4), pages 597-634, December.
    3. Kevork, Ilias S. & Pange, Jenny & Tzeremes, Panayiotis & Tzeremes, Nickolaos G., 2017. "Estimating Malmquist productivity indexes using probabilistic directional distances: An application to the European banking sector," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 261(3), pages 1125-1140.
    4. Ferrara, Giancarlo & Kounetas, Konstantinos E., 2024. "US banks efficiency after global financial crisis: Transient and persistent decomposition," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    5. Corbae, Dean & D’Erasmo, Pablo, 2020. "Rising bank concentration," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    6. Ogura, Yoshiaki, 2020. "Intensified lending competition and search-for-yield under prolonged monetary easing," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    7. Glass, Anthony J. & Kenjegalieva, Karligash & Weyman-Jones, Thomas, 2020. "The effect of monetary policy on bank competition using the Boone index," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 282(3), pages 1070-1087.
    8. Simar, Léopold & Zelenyuk, Valentin & Zhao, Shirong, 2024. "Central Limit Theorems for Directional Distance Functions with and without Undesirable Outputs," LIDAM Discussion Papers ISBA 2024010, Université catholique de Louvain, Institute of Statistics, Biostatistics and Actuarial Sciences (ISBA).
    9. Karadima, Maria & Louri, Helen, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and non-performing loans: The moderating role of bank concentration," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    10. Zhang, Jingfang & Malikov, Emir, 2022. "Off-balance sheet activities and scope economies in U.S. banking," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    11. Anthony J. Glass & Karligash Kenjegalieva, 2023. "Dynamic returns to scale and geography in U.S. banking," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 102(1), pages 53-85, February.
    12. Gao, Jiahong & Reed, Robert R., 2024. "Increasing returns to scale and financial fragility," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    13. He, Chengying & Huang, Ke & Lin, Jianwu & Wang, Tianqi & Zhang, Zuominyang, 2023. "Explain systemic risk of commodity futures market by dynamic network," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    14. Biswas, Swarnava (Sonny) & Koufopoulos, Kostas, 2020. "Bank competition and financing efficiency under asymmetric information," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    15. Seyed Mehdian & Rasoul Rezvanian & Ovidiu Stoica, 2019. "The Effect Of The 2008 Global Financial Crisis On The Efficiency Of Large U.S. Commercial Banks," Review of Economic and Business Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 24, pages 11-27, December.
    16. Shaffer, Sherrill & Spierdijk, Laura, 2020. "Measuring multi-product banks’ market power using the Lerner index," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    17. Glass, Anthony J. & Kenjegaliev, Amangeldi & Kenjegalieva, Karligash, 2020. "Spatial scale and product mix economies in U.S. banking with simultaneous spillover regimes," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 284(2), pages 693-711.
    18. Robert McKeown, 2017. "Costs, Size And Returns To Scale Among Canadian And U.s. Commercial Banks," Working Paper 1382, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    19. Dean Corbae & Pablo D'Erasmo, 2021. "Capital Buffers in a Quantitative Model of Banking Industry Dynamics," Working Papers 21-24, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    20. Marc Blatter & Andreas Fuster, 2022. "Scale effects on efficiency and profitability in the Swiss banking sector," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 158(1), pages 1-24, December.
    21. Isakin, Maksim & Serletis, Apostolos, 2019. "Banking technology in a Markov switching economy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 154-168.
    22. Anthony J. Glass & Karligash Kenjegalieva, 2024. "Returns to scale, spillovers and persistence: A network perspective of U.S. bank size," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 2049-2076, April.
    23. Ji Wu & Shirong Zhao, 2024. "Returns to scale in cost, revenue, and profit for European banks: New results from nonparametric local linear methods," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 59(2), pages 487-517, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Paul W. Wilson & Kathleen Carey, 2004. "Nonparametric analysis of returns to scale in the US hospital industry," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(4), pages 505-524.
    2. David C. Wheelock & Paul W. Wilson, 2009. "Are U.S. banks too large?," Working Papers 2009-054, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    3. David C. Wheelock & Paul W. Wilson, 2011. "Are Credit Unions Too Small?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(4), pages 1343-1359, November.
    4. Maria Iacovou, 2002. "Class Size in the Early Years: Is Smaller Really Better?," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(3), pages 261-290.
    5. Subal C. Kumbhakar & Christopher F. Parmeter & Valentin Zelenyuk, 2022. "Stochastic Frontier Analysis: Foundations and Advances I," Springer Books, in: Subhash C. Ray & Robert G. Chambers & Subal C. Kumbhakar (ed.), Handbook of Production Economics, chapter 8, pages 331-370, Springer.
    6. David F. Hendry & Hans-Martin Krolzig, 2005. "The Properties of Automatic "GETS" Modelling," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(502), pages C32-C61, 03.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C12 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Hypothesis Testing: General
    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General
    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:japmet:v:33:y:2018:i:1:p:16-28. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/0883-7252/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.