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Free Banking Laws and Barriers to Entry in Banking, 1838–1860

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  • Ng, Kenneth

Abstract

The thesis that free banking laws lowered barriers to entry in the U.S. banking industry is tested by examining entry of firms and output of banking services before and after the institution of free banking. The output of banking services and the number of banks remained the same or declined after the institution of free banking, in all states with viable free banking laws except New York. In light of this evidence, the belief that free banking in the antebellum United States increased competition and efficiency of the banking industry by lowering barriers to entry must be reconsidered.

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  • Ng, Kenneth, 1988. "Free Banking Laws and Barriers to Entry in Banking, 1838–1860," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(4), pages 877-889, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:48:y:1988:i:04:p:877-889_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Enrico Perotti, 2013. "The Political Economy of Finance," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 13-034/IV/DSF53, Tinbergen Institute.
    2. Eduardo A. Morón, 1992. "La demanda por múltiples monedas: un enfoque de portafolio," Apuntes. Revista de ciencias sociales, Fondo Editorial, Universidad del Pacífico, vol. 19(31), pages 19-28.
    3. Benjamin Chabot & Charles C. Moul, 2014. "Bank Panics, Government Guarantees, and the Long‐Run Size of the Financial Sector: Evidence from Free‐Banking America," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(5), pages 961-997, August.
    4. Stephen Haber, 2008. "Differential Paths of Financial Development: Evidence from New World Economies," NBER Chapters, in: Understanding Long-Run Economic Growth: Geography, Institutions, and the Knowledge Economy, pages 89-120, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Stephen Haber & Enrico Perotti, 2008. "The Political Economy of Financial Systems," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 08-045/2, Tinbergen Institute.
    6. Donald F. Vitaliano, 2024. "Asymmetric information and capital mobility in antebellum America," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 83(2), pages 393-406, March.
    7. Zegarra, Luis Felipe, 2014. "Bank laws, economic growth and early banking in Latin America: 1840–1920," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 101-119.
    8. George Selgin, 2014. "Operation Twist-the-Truth: How the Federal Reserve Misrepresents Its History and Performance," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 34(2), pages 229-263, Spring/Su.
    9. Gary B. Gorton, 2016. "The History and Economics of Safe Assets," NBER Working Papers 22210, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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