Banks, Credit Markets, and Early American Development: A Case Study of Entry and Competition
利用马萨诸塞州普利茅斯县的详细数据，发现早期银行放贷比个人信贷市场更挑剔，并未扩大信贷获取；1820年代特许政策自由化后，银行竞争才使农民和工匠获得贷款。
New England experienced a significant economic transformation after the Revolutionary War. Despite an extensive literature on American development, little is known about the precise role of banks in this process. This article exploits a detailed dataset from Plymouth County, Massachusetts to show that the first bank during its early stage was far more selective in lending than the pre-existing personal credit market. Thus the mere introduction of a single bank did not broaden access to credit. Following the liberalization of chartering policy in the 1820s, however, freer entry and competition drove banks to extend credit to farmers and artisans.