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Why did the Bank of Canada Emerge in 1935?

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  • Michael D. Bordo
  • Angela Redish

Abstract

Three possible explanations for the emergence of the Canadian central bank in 1935 are examined: that it reflected the need of competitive banking systems for a lender of the last resort; that it was necessary to anchor the unregulated Canadian monetary system after the abandonment of the gold standard in 1929; and that it was a response to political rather than purely economic pressures. Evidence from a variety of sources (contemporary statements to a Royal Commission, the correspondence of chartered bankers, newspaper reports, academic writings and the estimation of time series econometric models) rejects the first two hypotheses and supports the third.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael D. Bordo & Angela Redish, 1986. "Why did the Bank of Canada Emerge in 1935?," NBER Working Papers 2079, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:2079
    Note: ME
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    Cited by:

    1. Grodecka-Messi, Anna & Zhang, Xin, 2023. "Private bank money vs central bank money: A historical lesson for CBDC introduction," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    2. Josh Ryan-Collins, 2015. "Is Monetary Financing Inflationary? A Case Study of the Canadian Economy, 1935-75," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_848, Levy Economics Institute.
    3. Ignacio Briones & Hugh Rockoff, 2005. "Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Free-Banking Episodes?," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 2(2), pages 279-324, August.
    4. Richard S.Grossman, 2016. "Banking Crises," Wesleyan Economics Working Papers 2016-001, Wesleyan University, Department of Economics.
    5. Gorton, Gary & Huang, Lixin, 2006. "Bank panics and the endogeneity of central banking," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(7), pages 1613-1629, October.
    6. Calomiris, Charles W. & Flandreau, Marc & Laeven, Luc, 2016. "Political foundations of the lender of last resort: A global historical narrative," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 48-65.
    7. Grodecka, Anna & Kotidis, Antonis, 2016. "Double Liability in a Branch Banking System: Historical Evidence from Canada," Working Paper Series 316, Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden).
    8. Michael D. Bordo & Christopher M. Meissner, 2015. "Growing Up to Stability? Financial Globalization, Financial Development and Financial Crises," NBER Working Papers 21287, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Michael D. Bordo & Pierre L. Siklos, 2017. "Central Banks: Evolution and Innovation in Historical Perspective," NBER Working Papers 23847, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Michael D. Bordo, 1990. "The lender of last resort : alternative views and historical experience," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, vol. 76(Jan), pages 18-29.
    11. Angela Redish & Olga Marcela Namen, 2012. "Central Banks: Past, Present, Future," Revista ESPE - Ensayos Sobre Política Económica, Banco de la República, vol. 30(67), pages 14-35, July.
    12. Michael D. Bordo & Angela Redish & Hugh Rockoff, 2015. "Why didn't Canada have a banking crisis in 2008 (or in 1930, or 1907, or …)?," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 68(1), pages 218-243, February.
    13. George Bragues, 2016. "The Political Regime Factor in Austrian Business Cycle Theory: Historically Accounting for the US and Canadian Experiences of the 2007–2009 Financial Crisis," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: Studies in Austrian Macroeconomics, volume 20, pages 137-161, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    14. Selgin, George & Lastrapes, William D. & White, Lawrence H., 2012. "Has the Fed been a failure?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 569-596.
    15. George A. Selgin, 1989. "Legal Restrictions, Financial Weakening, and the Lender of Last Resort," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 9(2), pages 429-469, Fall.
    16. Akhand Akhtar Hossain, 2009. "Central Banking and Monetary Policy in the Asia-Pacific," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12777.
    17. Eugene N. White, 2011. ""To Establish a More Effective Supervision of Banking": How the Birth of the Fed Altered Bank Supervision," NBER Working Papers 16825, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Michael D. Bordo & Angela Redish, 1988. "Costs And Benefits Of Exchange Rate Stability: Canada'S Interwar Experience," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 6(2), pages 115-130, April.
    19. Thomas K. Ryrnes, 1989. "The Theory and Measurement of the Nominal Output of Banks, Sectoral Rates of Savings, and Wealth in the National Accounts," NBER Chapters, in: The Measurement of Saving, Investment, and Wealth, pages 357-400, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Rockoff, Hugh & White, Eugene N., 2012. "Monetary Regimes and Policy on a Global Scale: The Oeuvre of Michael D. Bordo," MPRA Paper 49672, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised May 2013.
    21. Singleton,John, 2010. "Central Banking in the Twentieth Century," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521899093.
    22. Sabaté, Marcela & Fillat, Carmen & Escario, Regina, 2019. "Budget deficits and money creation: Exploring their relation before Bretton Woods," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 38-56.
    23. Richard S. Grossman, 2011. "The Economic History of Banking," Wesleyan Economics Working Papers 2011-004, Wesleyan University, Department of Economics.
    24. Geoffrey Brooke & Anthony Endres & Alan Rogers, 2018. "The Economists and Monetary Thought in Interwar New Zealand: The Gradual Emergence of Monetary Policy Activism," Working Papers 2018-09, Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics.
    25. Gianni Toniolo & Eugene N. White, 2015. "The Evolution of the Financial Stability Mandate: From Its Origins to the Present Day," NBER Working Papers 20844, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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