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Did the Reserve Requirement Increases of 1936–37 Reduce Bank Lending? Evidence from a Quasi‐Experiment

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  • HAELIM PARK
  • PATRICK VAN HORN

Abstract

We analyze the impact of contractionary monetary policy through increases in reserve requirements on bank lending. We compare the lending behavior of banks that were subject to the requirement increases in 1936–37, Federal Reserve member banks, to a group of banks that were not subject to the reserve increase, Federal Reserve nonmember banks. After implementing the difference‐in‐difference estimators, we find that the increases in reserve requirements did not create financing constraints for member banks and lead them to reduce lending. Therefore, the actions of the Federal Reserve concerning the required reserve ratios cannot be blamed for instigating the economic downturn of 1937–38.

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  • Haelim Park & Patrick Van Horn, 2015. "Did the Reserve Requirement Increases of 1936–37 Reduce Bank Lending? Evidence from a Quasi‐Experiment," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(5), pages 791-818, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jmoncb:v:47:y:2015:i:5:p:791-818
    DOI: 10.1111/jmcb.12235
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    2. Monnet, Eric & Velde, François R., 2020. "Money, Banking, and Old-School Historical Economics," CEPR Discussion Papers 15348, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Chaoying Lin & Lerong He & Guangqing Yang, 2021. "Targeted monetary policy and financing constraints of Chinese small businesses," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 2107-2124, December.
    4. John Kandrac, 2021. "Can the Federal Reserve Effectively Target Main Street? Evidence from the 1970s Recession," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2021-061, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    5. Christopher Curfman & John Kandrac, 2019. "The costs and benefits of liquidity regulations: Lessons from an idle monetary policy tool," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2019-041, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    6. Calomiris, Charles W. & Mason, Joseph R. & Wheelock, David C., 2023. "Did doubling reserve requirements cause the 1937–38 recession? New evidence on the impact of reserve requirements on bank reserve demand and lending," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    7. Anderson, Haelim Park & Bluedorn, John C., 2017. "Stopping contagion with bailouts: Micro-evidence from Pennsylvania bank networks during the panic of 1884," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 139-149.
    8. Christopher J Curfman & John Kandrac, 2022. "The Costs and Benefits of Liquidity Regulations: Lessons from an Idle Monetary Policy Tool [Crisis resolution and bank liquidity]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(2), pages 319-353.
    9. Anderson, Haelim Park & Bluedorn, John C., 2017. "Reprint of: Stopping contagion with bailouts: Micro-evidence from Pennsylvania bank networks during the panic of 1884," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 221-231.

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