Banking on railroads: The effect of market access on banking provision during the Gilded Age

Jeff Chan

Economic History Review, 2025, vol. 78, issue 3, 776-801

Abstract: I examine the effect that market access, induced by the railroad network expansion, had on banking provision in nineteenth‐century America. I find that market access increased the number of national banks. This effect operated via the extensive margin, with market access increasing the probability of having a national bank for affected counties. I find that counties had more national bank activity, with increased assets, loans, deposits, and other outcomes. I do not, however, find any effect of market access on banks already in operation. Market access therefore increased banking provision chiefly through the increased entry of national banks.

Date: 2025
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