Full Citation
Title: Did Railroads Make Antebellum U.S. Banks More Sound?
Citation Type: Working Paper
Publication Year: 2014
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Abstract: We investigate the relationships of bank failures and balance sheet conditions with measures of proximity to different forms of transportation in the United States over the period from 1830-1860. A series of hazard models and bank-level regressions indicate a systematic relationship between proximity to railroads (but not to other means of transportation) and good banking outcomes. Although railroads improved economic conditions along their routes, we offer evidence of another channel. Specifically, railroads facilitated better information flows about banks that led to modifications in bank asset composition consistent with reductions in the incidence of moral hazard.
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Authors: Jaremski, Matthew S.; Atack, Jeremy; Rousseau, Peter L.
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Publication Number: 20032
Institution: NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH
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Publisher Location: 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138
Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS
Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Other
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