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The Origins of the Blue-Sky Laws: A Test of Competing Hypotheses

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  • Mahoney, Paul G

Abstract

Between 1911 and 1931, 47 of the 48 states adopted state securities, or "blue-sky," laws. This paper employs an event history analysis to analyze public interest, public choice, and ideological explanations for the enactment of blue-sky laws. The data suggest that the decision to adopt a blue-sky law was heavily influenced by the strength of progressive lobbies. However, the type of law adopted was more strongly influenced by the prevalence of small banks that faced competition for depositors' funds from securities salesmen. I also provide evidence that more stringent blue-sky laws increased small-bank profits.

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  • Mahoney, Paul G, 2003. "The Origins of the Blue-Sky Laws: A Test of Competing Hypotheses," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 46(1), pages 229-251, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlawec:y:2003:v:46:i:1:p:229-51
    DOI: 10.1086/345580
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Randall S. Kroszner & Philip E. Strahan, 2001. "Obstacles to Optimal Policy: The Interplay of Politics and Economics in Shaping Bank Supervision and Regulation Reforms," NBER Chapters, in: Prudential Supervision: What Works and What Doesn't, pages 233-272, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Michael Greenstone & Paul Oyer & Annette Vissing-Jorgensen, 2006. "Mandated Disclosure, Stock Returns, and the 1964 Securities Acts Amendments," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(2), pages 399-460.
    3. Michael Ewens & Joan Farre-Mensa, 2020. "The Deregulation of the Private Equity Markets and the Decline in IPOs," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(12), pages 5463-5509.
    4. Battalio, Robert & Hatch, Brian & Loughran, Tim, 2011. "Who benefited from the disclosure mandates of the 1964 Securities Acts Amendments?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 1047-1063, September.
    5. Agrawal, Ashwini K., 2013. "The impact of investor protection law on corporate policy and performance: Evidence from the blue sky laws," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(2), pages 417-435.
    6. 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.
    7. Carruthers, Bruce G. & Guinnane, Timothy W. & Lee, Yoonseok, 2009. "Bringing "Honest Capital" to Poor Borrowers: The Passage of the Uniform Small Loan Law, 1907-1930," Center Discussion Papers 50949, Yale University, Economic Growth Center.
    8. Zeynep K. Hansen & Marc T. Law, 2008. "The Political Economy of Truth-in-Advertising Regulation during the Progressive Era," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(2), pages 251-269, May.
    9. Harold Mulherin, J., 2007. "Measuring the costs and benefits of regulation: Conceptual issues in securities markets," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 421-437, June.
    10. Carola Frydman & Eric Hilt, 2014. "Investment Banks as Corporate Monitors in the Early 20th Century United States," NBER Working Papers 20544, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Bruce G. Carruthers & Naomi R. Lamoreaux, 2016. "Regulatory Races: The Effects of Jurisdictional Competition on Regulatory Standards," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(1), pages 52-97, March.
    12. Gregory Waymire & Sudipta Basu, 2011. "Economic crisis and accounting evolution," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(3), pages 207-232, August.
    13. Agrawal, Ashwini K., 2009. "The Impact of Investor Protection Law on Corporate Policy: Evidence from the Blue Sky Laws," MPRA Paper 16351, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Smythe Donald J., 2008. "Transaction Costs, Neighborhood Effects, and the Diffusion of the Uniform Sales Act, 1906-47," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 341-372, October.
    15. Luzi Hail & Ahmed Tahoun & Clare Wang, 2017. "Corporate Scandals and Regulation," Working Papers Series 71, Institute for New Economic Thinking.
    16. Luzi Hail & Ahmed Tahoun & Clare Wang, 2018. "Corporate Scandals and Regulation," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 617-671, May.

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