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Big bad banks ? the impact of U.S. branch deregulation on income distribution

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  • Beck, Thorsten
  • Levine, Ross
  • Levkov, Alexey

Abstract

Policymakers and economists disagree about the impact of bank regulations on the distribution of income. Exploiting cross-state and cross-time variation, the authors test whether liberalizing restrictions on intra-state branching in the United States intensified, ameliorated, or had no effect on income distribution. The analysis finds that branch deregulation lowered income inequality by affecting labor market conditions, not by boosting the business income of the poor, nor by enhancing educational attainment. Reductions in the earnings gap between men and women and between skilled and unskilled workers account for the bulk of the explained drop in income inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Beck, Thorsten & Levine, Ross & Levkov, Alexey, 2007. "Big bad banks ? the impact of U.S. branch deregulation on income distribution," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4330, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4330
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    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

    Keywords

    Emerging Markets; Economic Theory&Research; Inequality; Fiscal&Monetary Policy;
    All these keywords.

    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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