This study examines the association between political connectiveness in the banking sector and the aggregate profitability of the sector. Evidence from an international sample of 59 countries points towards a positive effect. This finding holds while controlling for a variety of country-level...

This study examines whether state-owned banks face political pressure and whether the improvement in political institutions alleviates this pressure. The theory of political benefits argues that politicians use state-owned banks for political purposes such as obtaining and maintaining political...

We use the 2020 Small Business Credit Survey to study the sources of racial disparities in use of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Black-owned firms are 8.9 percentage points less likely than observably similar white-owned firms to receive PPP loans. About 55 percent of this take-up...

We use the 2020 Small Business Credit Survey to study the sources of racial disparities in use of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Black-owned firms are 8.9 percentage points less likely than observably similar white-owned firms to receive PPP loans. About 55 percent of this take-up...

In 1865, the first minority bank in the United States was established. Over time, banks owned or controlled by minorities have grown in number. Yet, one hundred and fifty years later, they still account for only 2.8 percent of all banks. The contribution of this paper is fourfold. First, it...

Several countries have banking policies geared towards providing access to credit to ethnic or religious minorities, e.g., India, China, Malaysia, South Africa, United States. In this paper, we characterize the compensating risk premium for such minority bank (MB) policies. Our theory apparatus...

Banking the unbanked is a common policy goal, but should this include access to bank accounts for minors? This study estimates how teenagers' access to bank accounts affects their financial development. Using variation in state laws, we show policies that permit access to independently-owned...

Does the banking structure of a local economy matter for local economic outcomes? Using a discontinuity in the application of bank antitrust rules, I inspect how changes in bank concentration impacts local labor market outcomes. A rise in county-level deposit-HHI of 142 points leads to a rise in...

This paper compares the loans granted to male and female entrepreneurs by a French microfinance institution (MFI). The sample period is split in two: before and after the MFI implemented France's regulatory EUR 10,000 loan ceiling. In the first period, the MFI does not co-finance projects with...