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Credit Availability and the Collapse of the Banking Sector in the 1930s

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  • MARK CARLSON
  • JONATHAN D. ROSE

Abstract

This paper examines the mechanism through which banking sector distress affects the availability of credit using the experience of the United States during the Great Depression. We utilize previously neglected data from a 1934 survey conducted by the Federal Reserve System of both banks and Chambers of Commerce regarding the availability of credit, and examine which aspects of the banking system collapse affected credit availability as indicated by the survey. We find that bank failures had the most dominant impact, but there is also some evidence for the importance of funding constraints from deposit outflows and of protracted bank liquidation.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Carlson & Jonathan D. Rose, 2015. "Credit Availability and the Collapse of the Banking Sector in the 1930s," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(7), pages 1239-1271, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jmoncb:v:47:y:2015:i:7:p:1239-1271
    DOI: 10.1111/jmcb.12244
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    2. Sanjiv R. Das & Kris James Mitchener & Angela Vossmeyer, 2018. "Bank Regulation, Network Topology, and Systemic Risk: Evidence from the Great Depression," CESifo Working Paper Series 7425, CESifo.
    3. Mark A. Carlson & David C. Wheelock, 2012. "The lender of last resort: lessons from the Fed’s first 100 years," Working Papers 2012-056, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    4. Berger, Allen N. & Molyneux, Phil & Wilson, John O.S., 2020. "Banks and the real economy: An assessment of the research," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    5. Jon Cohen & Kinda Hachem & Gary Richardson, 2021. "Relationship Lending and the Great Depression," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 103(3), pages 505-520, July.
    6. Zhang, Jintao & Lei, Xinghui & Su, Taoyong & Li, Ziyao, 2025. "Credit availability of energy-intensive industries in emerging economies: Do financially established firms have better access to credit?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    7. Carlson, Mark, 2025. "Durable consumption, bank distress, economic concerns, and how they interacted during the great depression," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    8. Ben S. Bernanke, 2018. "The Real Effects of Disrupted Credit: Evidence from the Global Financial Crisis," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 49(2 (Fall)), pages 251-342.
    9. Daniel K. Fetter & Lee M. Lockwood, 2018. "Government Old-Age Support and Labor Supply: Evidence from the Old Age Assistance Program," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(8), pages 2174-2211, August.
    10. Mark A. Carlson, 2025. "The Banking Panic in New Mexico in 1924 and the Response of the Federal Reserve," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2025-064, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    11. Quincy, Sarah, 2022. "Income shocks and housing spillovers: Evidence from the World War I Veterans’ Bonus," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
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