For over a century, economists and policy makers have debated the relative merits of bank-based versus market …-based financial systems. Recent research, however, argues that classifying countries as bank-based or market is not a very fruitful … robustly linked with economic growth, there is no support for either the bank-based or market-based view …

degrees of dependence on external financing or access to capital. However, because regulations affecting bank entry varied … branch banking and more banks per capita increased the growth of industries that rely relatively heavily on external … sector. Regulations on bank entry and other banking market characteristics thus appear to exert an independent influence on …

This paper examines the evolving importance of banks and securities markets during the process of economic development …. We find that as countries develop economically, (1) the size of both banks and securities markets increases relative to … the size of the economy, (2) the association between an increase in economic output and an increase in bank development …

In this paper we argue that in 19th century U.S, households and firms that were located in cities with banks enjoyed a … higher level of both consumption and production amenities than those who were located in cities without banks. We use data on … banks location and city population growth in the Northeastern United States in 1830-1870 and document a positive and strong …

the banking sector, and the behavior and profitability of financial intermediaries; (2) macroeconomic analysis with a … that has survived the worst of the economic and political crises of the last decades is highly profitable. Bank … profitability, however, hides several weaknesses of the financial sector: a high level of fragmentation; a narrow credit market that …