The Competitive Role of Credit Unions in Small Local Financial Services Markets
研究信用合作社对银行消费贷款利率的竞争约束作用，基于美国小规模市场数据，发现信用合作社能有效抑制银行的市场力量。
Although there is a considerable literature on the role of market structure in banking markets, no attention has been given to the impact of the competitive discipline provided by credit unions on consumer credit rates offered by banks. After presenting a theoretical framework for understanding the impact credit unions should be expected to have, this article analyzes a pooled cross-sectional, time-series sample with roughly 1, 000 observations on relatively small United States markets, with the focus on explaining bank rates for two types of consumer loans. Results confirm the previously observed role of market structure and suggest a significant role for credit unions in disciplining the exercise of market power by banks. © 2001 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology