We assess the impact of bank deregulation on the distribution of income in the United States. From the 1970s through the 1990s, most states removed restrictions on intrastate branching, which intensified bank competition and improved bank performance. Exploiting the cross-state, cross-time...

We evaluate the connection between corporate characteristics and the reaction of stock returns to COVID-19 cases using data on over 6,700 firms across 61 economies. The pandemic-induced drop in stock returns was milder among firms with (a) stronger pre-2020 finances (more cash and undrawn...