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Big Bad Banks? The Impact of U.S. Branch Deregulation on Income Distribution

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  • Thorsten Beck
  • Ross Levine
  • Alexey Levkov

Abstract

By studying intrastate branch banking reform in the United States, this paper provides evidence that financial markets substantively influence the distribution of income. From the 1970s through the 1990s, most states removed restrictions on intrastate branching, which intensified bank competition and improved efficiency. Exploiting the cross-state, cross-time variation in the timing of bank deregulation, we evaluate the impact of liberalizing intrastate branching restrictions on the distribution of income. We find that branch deregulation significantly reduced income inequality by boosting the incomes of lower income workers. The reduction in income inequality is fully accounted for by a reduction in earnings inequality among salaried workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Thorsten Beck & Ross Levine & Alexey Levkov, 2007. "Big Bad Banks? The Impact of U.S. Branch Deregulation on Income Distribution," NBER Working Papers 13299, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13299
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    Cited by:

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    3. Laeven, Luc & Levine, Ross & Michalopoulos, Stelios, 2015. "Financial innovation and endogenous growth," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 1-24.
    4. Miriam Bruhn & Inessa Love, 2011. "Gender differences in the impact of banking services: evidence from Mexico," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 493-512, November.
    5. Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Ross Levine, 2009. "Finance and Inequality: Theory and Evidence," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 287-318, November.
    6. Guivanna Aguilar, 2011. "Microcrédito Y Crecimiento Regional En El Perú," Documentos de Trabajo / Working Papers 2011-317, Departamento de Economía - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.
    7. Johan Graafland & Bert Ven, 2011. "The Credit Crisis and the Moral Responsibility of Professionals in Finance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(4), pages 605-619, November.
    8. Ghosh, Saibal, 2008. "Financial Inclusion and Financial Fragility: An Empirical Note," MPRA Paper 24252, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Kim, Dong-Hyeon & Lin, Shu-Chin, 2011. "Nonlinearity in the financial developmentâincome inequality nexus," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 310-325, September.
    10. Hongbo Zhao & Xiao Zheng & Lin Yang, 2022. "Does Digital Inclusive Finance Narrow the Urban-Rural Income Gap through Primary Distribution and Redistribution?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-19, February.
    11. Catherine Schaumans & Frank Verboven, 2015. "Entry and Competition in Differentiated Products Markets," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(1), pages 195-209, March.
    12. Bruhn, Miriam & Love, Inessa, 2009. "The economic impact of banking the unbanked : evidence from Mexico," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4981, The World Bank.
    13. Kpodar, Kangni & Singh, Raju Jan, 2011. "Does financial structure matter for poverty ? evidence from developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5915, The World Bank.
    14. Thorsten Beck, 2009. "The Econometrics of Finance and Growth," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Terence C. Mills & Kerry Patterson (ed.), Palgrave Handbook of Econometrics, chapter 25, pages 1180-1209, Palgrave Macmillan.
    15. Bing Kuang & Jinjin Liu & Xiangyu Fan, 2022. "Has China’s Low-Carbon City Construction Enhanced the Green Utilization Efficiency of Urban Land?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-20, August.
    16. Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Levine, Ross, 2008. "Finance and economic opportunity," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4468, The World Bank.
    17. Ms. Corinne C Delechat & Ms. Monique Newiak & Rui Xu & Mr. Fan Yang & Goksu Aslan, 2018. "What is Driving Women’s Financial Inclusion Across Countries?," IMF Working Papers 2018/038, International Monetary Fund.
    18. Kwangbin Bae & Dongsook Han & Hosung Sohn, 2012. "Importance of Access to Finance in Reducing Income Inequality and Poverty Level," International Review of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1), pages 55-77, April.
    19. Michal Jerzmanowski & Malhar Nabar, 2013. "Financial Development And Wage Inequality: Theory And Evidence," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 211-234, January.
    20. Beck, T.H.L., 2008. "Financial Systems and Economic Development : What Have we Learned?," Other publications TiSEM 40833c09-83c6-447d-a32b-e, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    21. Sheng Xu & Michael Asiedu & Nana Adwoa Anokye Effah, 2023. "Inclusive Finance, Gender Inequality, and Sustainable Economic Growth in Africa," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(4), pages 4866-4902, December.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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