Disentangling the effects of a banking crisis: evidence from German firms and counties

Kilian Huber

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Lending cuts by banks directly affect the firms borrowing from them, but also indirectly depress economic activity in the regions in which they operate. This paper moves beyond firm-level studies by estimating the effects of an exogenous lending cut by a large German bank on firms and counties. I construct an instrument for regional exposure to the lending cut based on a historic, postwar breakup of the bank. I present evidence that the lending cut affected firms independently of their banking relationships, through lower aggregate demand and agglomeration spillovers in counties exposed to the lending cut. Output and employment remained persistently low even after bank lending had normalized. Innovation and productivity fell, consistent with the persistent effects.

JEL-codes: E32 E44 G21 G32 R11 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-03-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ban, nep-bec, nep-geo, nep-mac and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (191)

Published in American Economic Review, 1, March, 2018, 108(3), pp. 868-898. ISSN: 0002-8282

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http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/87410/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Disentangling the Effects of a Banking Crisis: Evidence from German Firms and Counties (2018)
Working Paper: The Persistence of a Banking Crisis (2015)
Working Paper: The Persistence of a Banking Crisis (2015)
Working Paper: The persistence of a banking crisis (2015)
Working Paper: The persistence of a banking crisis (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:87410

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