How Important Are Banks for Development? National Banks in the United States, 1870–1900
利用1870–1900年美国国民银行最低资本要求导致的进入门槛不连续性，发现获得银行使县人均产出提高10%，且农村银行通过提供流动资本促进了农业比较优势的发挥。
Do banks matter for growth, and if so, how? This paper examines the effects of national banks in the United States from 1870 to 1900. I use the discontinuity in entry caused by a large minimum size requirement to identify the effects of banking. For the counties on the margin between getting a bank and not, gaining a bank increased production per person by 10%. National banks in rural areas improved agriculture over manufacturing, moving counties toward geographic comparative advantage. Since these banks made few long-term loans, the evidence suggests that the provision of working capital and liquidity matters for growth.