Did Railroads Make Antebellum U.S. Banks More Sound?

Jeremy Atack, Matthew Jaremski and Peter Rousseau

No 20032, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

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.

JEL-codes: N21 N71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cta, nep-his and nep-tre
Note: DAE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published as Did Railroads Make Antebellum U.S. Banks More Sound? , Jeremy Atack, Matthew S. Jaremski, Peter L. Rousseau. in Enterprising America: Businesses, Banks, and Credit Markets in Historical Perspective , Collins and Margo. 2015

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