Banks and the Economy: Evidence from the Irish Bank Strike of 1966

Jason Lennard, Seán Kenny () and Emma Horgan
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Seán Kenny: University College Cork, Queen's University Centre for Economic History, and Lund University, Postal: Department of Economic History, Lund University, Box 7083, S-220 07 Lund, Sweden
Emma Horgan: University College Cork

No 256, Lund Papers in Economic History from Lund University, Department of Economic History

Abstract: This paper studies a natural experiment in macroeconomic history: the Irish bank strike of 1966, which led to the closure of the major commercial banks for three months. We use synthetic control to estimate how the economy would have evolved had the strike not happened. We find that economic activity slowed, deviating by 6% from the counter- factual path. Narrative evidence not only supports this finding, but also depicts the struggles of households and firms managing a credit crunch, a liquidity shock, and rising transaction costs. This case study highlights the importance of banks for economic performance.

Keywords: banks; Ireland; macroeconomy; post-war (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E32 E44 G21 N14 N24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 49 pages
Date: 2024-01-29
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his and nep-mon
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Related works:
Working Paper: Banks and the Economy: Evidence from the Irish Bank Strike of 1966 (2023)
Working Paper: Banks and the Economy: Evidence from the Irish Bank Strike of 1966 (2023)
Working Paper: Banks and the economy: Evidence from the Irish bank strike of 1966 (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:luekhi:0256

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