Recent American and European financial crises prompt the questions: under what conditions do crises end, when does a rescue plan crystallize, and how does a rescue happen? I examine a successful rescue operation in the worst pre-Federal Reserve financial crisis, the Panic of 1907, with these...

As a result of legal restrictions on branch banking, an extensive interbank system developed in the United States during the 19th century to facilitate interregional payments and flows of liquidity and credit. Vast sums moved through the interbank system to meet seasonal and other demands, but...

If they could be believed, Farley W. Grubb's recent papers on the early U.S. monetary system would be important contributions to scholarship and public policy. This paper shows, however, that Grubb's papers should not be believed. Grubb's key assumption, that the medium of exchange can be...

The paper surveys the recent literature on the fiscal implications of central bank balance sheets, with a special focus on political economy issues. It then presents the results of simulations that describe the effects of different scenarios for the Federal Reserve's longer-run balance sheet on...

This article examines how the U.S. banking system responded to the founding of the Federal Reserve System (Fed) in 1914. The Fed was established to bring an end to the frequent crises that plagued the U.S. banking system, which reform proponents attributed to the nation’s...

The paper surveys the recent literature on the fiscal implications of central bank balance sheets, with a special focus on political economy issues. It then presents the results of simulations that describe the effects of different scenarios for the Federal Reserve's longer-run balance sheet on...

The unit banking structure of the United States gave rise to a uniquely important interbank correspondent network, which linked banks throughout the country during the National Banking Era. During normal times, these interbank network relationships provided banks with access to money markets,...

As a result of legal restrictions on branch banking, an extensive interbank system developed in the United States during the nineteenth century to facilitate interregional payments and flows of liquidity and credit. Vast sums moved through the interbank system to meet seasonal and other demands,...

As a result of legal restrictions on branch banking, an extensive interbank system developed in the United States during the 19th century to facilitate interregional payments and flows of liquidity and credit. Vast sums moved through the interbank system to meet seasonal and other demands, but...

As a result of legal restrictions on branch banking, an extensive interbank system developed in the United States during the 19th century to facilitate interregional payments and flows of liquidity and credit. Vast sums moved through the interbank system to meet seasonal and other demands, but...