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How important are banks for development? National banks in the United States 1870–1900

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  • Scott Fulford

    (Boston College)

Abstract

What financial services matter for growth? This paper examines the effects national banks had on growth in the United States from 1870-1900. These banks were commercial not investment banks: they made short term loans and could not take land as collateral. I use the discontinuity in entry caused by a large minimum capital requirement to identify the effects of banking. Counties getting a bank increased production per person substantially and tilted production towards agriculture over manufacturing by expanding land under cultivation, not improving yields. The effects are highly persistent and show that the commercial activities of banks matter for growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Scott Fulford, 2010. "How important are banks for development? National banks in the United States 1870–1900," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 753, Boston College Department of Economics, revised 15 Dec 2014.
    • Handle: RePEc:boc:bocoec:753
    Note: Previously circulated as "If financial development matters, then how? National banks in the United States 1870-1900"
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    Cited by:

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    2. Howard Bodenhorn & David Cuberes, 2010. "Financial development and city growth: Evidence from Northeastern American cities, 1790-1870," Working Papers 2010/35, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    3. Scott L. Fulford & Ivan Petkov & Fabio Schiantarelli, 2020. "Does it matter where you came from? Ancestry composition and economic performance of US counties, 1850–2010," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 341-380, September.
    4. Hilt, Eric & Jaremski, Matthew & Rahn, Wendy, 2022. "When Uncle Sam introduced Main Street to Wall Street: Liberty Bonds and the transformation of American finance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(1), pages 194-216.
    5. Scott L. Fulford & Felipe Schwartzman, 2020. "The Benefits of Commitment to a Currency Peg: Aggregate Lessons from the Regional Effects of the 1896 U.S. Presidential Election," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(3), pages 600-616, July.
    6. Da Mata, Daniel & Resende, Guilherme, 2020. "Changing the climate for banking: The economic effects of credit in a climate-vulnerable area," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    7. Matthew Jaremski & Peter L. Rousseau, 2013. "Banks, Free Banks, And U.S. Economic Growth," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(2), pages 1603-1621, April.
    8. Abdullahi Osman Ali, 2021. "Impact of Monetary Policy Fluctuations on Conventional and Islamic Banks in Malaysia: Evidence from ARDL Approach," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 11(1), pages 101-108.
    9. Bodenhorn, Howard & Cuberes, David, 2018. "Finance and urbanization in early nineteenth-century New York," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 47-58.
    10. Pere Arqué-Castells & Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal, 2013. "Banking towards development: Evidence from the Spanish banking expansion plan," Working Papers 2013/8, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    11. Pere Arqué-castells & Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal, 2016. "Banking the unbanked: Evidence from the Spanish Banking Expansion Plan," Working Papers 2016/24, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    National banks; commercial banking; development; growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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