We provide a first look into retail cryptocurrency investing by observing cryptocurrency purchases and sales into and out of user bank accounts for millions of U.S. individuals. We document the skyrocketing interest of new investors for the crypto space, even among those with limited traditional...

The impact of technology-enabled (FinTech) lenders on bank credit is theoretically ambiguous. Banks can reduce credit if borrowing from FinTech lenders increases default risk. Alternatively, banks can provide more credit if such borrowing signals creditworthiness. I examine these possibilities...

English language learners (ELLs) are increasingly placed in classes with mainstream teachers lacking training and experience to teach diverse populations. Rural areas are being characterized by a growing number of ELLs, challenges to attract and retain qualified educators, and budgetary...

In this paper I document two new facts. First, bank net-interest margins (NIM) are insensitive to the short rate on average but this masks substantial heterogeneity in the cross section. I find cross sectional variation ranging from a -30bp to +40bp change in one quarter NIM after a 100bp change...

I provide new evidence that large and small banks have different external financing costs, which generates cross sectional variation in a deposits market pricing power channel of monetary policy transmission. I do so by exploiting a natural experiment using anti-trust related bank branch...

The reordering of transactions from “high-to-low” is a controversial bank practice thought to maximize fees paid by low-income customers on overdrawn accounts. We exploit a series of class-action lawsuits that mandated that some banks cease the practice. Using alternative credit bureau data,...

We examine the effects of the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, or MERS, on mortgage origination volumes and foreclosure rates prior to the Great Recession. MERS was introduced in the late 1990s and significantly reduced the cost and time associated with secondary mortgage sales. Using...