An Empirical History of the United States Postal Savings System

Steven Sprick Schuster, Matthew Jaremski and Elisabeth Perlman

No 25812, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Seeking to reach the unbanked, the United States Postal Savings System provided a federally insured savings alternative to traditional banks. Using novel datasets on postal deposits, demographic characteristics, and banks, we study how and by whom the System was used. We find the program was initially used by non-farming immigrant populations for short-term saving, then as a safe haven during the Great Depression, and finally as long-term investment for the wealthy during the 1940s. However, even during the earliest period, Postal Savings was only a partial substitute for traditional banks, as locations with banks often still heavily used postal savings.

JEL-codes: G21 H42 N22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his
Note: DAE
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