We examine the effect of US branch banking deregulations on the entry size of new firms using micro-data from the US Census Bureau. We find that the average entry size for startups did not change following the deregulations. However, among firms that survived at least four years, a greater...

We examine the effect of US branch banking deregulations on the entry size of new firms using micro-data from the US Census Bureau. We find that the average entry size for startups did not change following the deregulations. However, among firms that survived at least four years, a greater...

We study the role of banks in amplifying a fiscal stimulus. Exploiting increases in US defense spending following the 9/11 attacks, we show that increased economic activity in counties exposed to the spending shock lowered non-performing loans at banks. In turn, banks increased lending to small...