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Did Railroads Make Antebellum U.S. Banks More Sound?

In: Enterprising America: Businesses, Banks, and Credit Markets in Historical Perspective

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  • Jeremy Atack
  • Matthew S. Jaremski
  • Peter L. Rousseau

Abstract

We investigate the relationships of bank failures and balance sheet conditions with measures of proximity to different forms of transportation in the United States over the period from 1830-1860. A series of hazard models and bank-level regressions indicate a systematic relationship between proximity to railroads (but not to other means of transportation) and "good" banking outcomes. Although railroads improved economic conditions along their routes, we offer evidence of another channel. Specifically, railroads facilitated better information flows about banks that led to modifications in bank asset composition consistent with reductions in the incidence of moral hazard.
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Suggested Citation

  • Jeremy Atack & Matthew S. Jaremski & Peter L. Rousseau, 2014. "Did Railroads Make Antebellum U.S. Banks More Sound?," NBER Chapters, in: Enterprising America: Businesses, Banks, and Credit Markets in Historical Perspective, pages 149-178, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberch:13136
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Atack, Jeremy & Jaremski, Matthew & Rousseau, Peter L., 2014. "American Banking and the Transportation Revolution before the Civil War," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 74(4), pages 943-986, December.
    2. Peter L. Rousseau & Paul Wachtel, 2011. "What Is Happening To The Impact Of Financial Deepening On Economic Growth?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 49(1), pages 276-288, January.
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    9. Jeremy Atack & Fred Bateman & Michael Haines & Robert A. Margo, 2009. "Did Railroads Induce Or Follow Economic Growth? Urbanization And Population Growth In The American Midwest, 1850-60," Boston University - Department of Economics - The Institute for Economic Development Working Papers Series dp-178, Boston University - Department of Economics.
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    1. Technology and Financial Inclusion in North America
      by bbatiz in NEP-HIS blog on 2014-07-29 18:53:34

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    Cited by:

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    3. Howard Bodenhorn, 2017. "Finance and Growth: Household Savings, Public Investment, and Public Health in Late Nineteenth-Century New Jersey," NBER Working Papers 23430, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Stephan Heblich & Alex Trew, 2019. "Banking and Industrialization," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(6), pages 1753-1796.
    5. McGraw, Marquise J., 2020. "The role of airports in city employment growth, 1950–2010," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N21 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • N71 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913

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