Research Papers
The Finance-Growth Nexus: Evidence from Bank Branch Deregulation
June 1995 Number 9513
JEL classification: G2, L5

Authors: Jith Jayaratne and Philip Strahan

This paper provides evidence that financial markets can directly affect economic growth by studying the relaxation of bank branch restrictions in the United States over the past 25 years. We find that the rates of real, per-capita growth in income and output increase significantly following intrastate branch reform. We also argue that the observed changes in growth reflect causality flowing from financial sector reform to improved growth performance. This argument is supported by evidence from the process of branching deregulation, from the timing of such policy changes, and from bank lending following branch reform. Moreover, the particular financial sector policy experiment studied here leads to faster growth by improving the quality of bank lending.

Available only in PDFPDF44 pages / 1,342 kb
tools
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Statement. You can learn more about how we use cookies by reviewing our Privacy Statement.   Close