State Banking in Early America

A New Economic History

Business & Finance, Economics, Money & Monetary Policy, Finance & Investing, Banks & Banking, Economic History
Cover of the book State Banking in Early America by Howard Bodenhorn, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Howard Bodenhorn ISBN: 9780190287313
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: November 28, 2002
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Howard Bodenhorn
ISBN: 9780190287313
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: November 28, 2002
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Howard Bodenhorn's State Banking in Early America studies the financial experimentation that took place in the United States between 1790 and 1860. Dr. Bodenhorn's book explores regional differences in banking structures, which bear indirectly in the conection between financial and economic development. If a single theme emerges, it is that the United States benefitted from its free banking philosophy in which state governments, rather than a centralized authority, created financial structures designed to serve specific, local needs. Thus decentralized federalism provided state legislatures with a great deal of flexibility in their individual approaches to economic and financial issues. The important lessons to be learned from Dr. Bodenhorn's historical account are that successful banking systems are flexible, predictable, and incentive-compatible; they meet the needs of the borrowers, depositors and shareholders, and they reduce downside risks to generally agreed upon levels. These lessons imply that we cannot, a priori, define an optimal, one-size-fits-all banking system. We need to know something about the formal and informal institutions underlying an economy and about the risk preferences of its citizenry. Historically, outsiders view Americans as experimenters and risk takers. Nowhere is this experimentation and risk taking more apparent than in early American banking policies.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Howard Bodenhorn's State Banking in Early America studies the financial experimentation that took place in the United States between 1790 and 1860. Dr. Bodenhorn's book explores regional differences in banking structures, which bear indirectly in the conection between financial and economic development. If a single theme emerges, it is that the United States benefitted from its free banking philosophy in which state governments, rather than a centralized authority, created financial structures designed to serve specific, local needs. Thus decentralized federalism provided state legislatures with a great deal of flexibility in their individual approaches to economic and financial issues. The important lessons to be learned from Dr. Bodenhorn's historical account are that successful banking systems are flexible, predictable, and incentive-compatible; they meet the needs of the borrowers, depositors and shareholders, and they reduce downside risks to generally agreed upon levels. These lessons imply that we cannot, a priori, define an optimal, one-size-fits-all banking system. We need to know something about the formal and informal institutions underlying an economy and about the risk preferences of its citizenry. Historically, outsiders view Americans as experimenters and risk takers. Nowhere is this experimentation and risk taking more apparent than in early American banking policies.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Empirical Musicology by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book Hurricanes of the North Atlantic by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book Indirect Procedures: A Musician's Guide to the Alexander Technique by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book The Oxford History of Islam by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book A Pattern Language by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book Finite and Infinite Goods by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book Skeptical Linguistic Essays by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book Shadows in the Field by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book Etruscans: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book A Cabinet Of Roman Curiosities : Strange Tales And Surprising Facts From The World's Greatest Empire by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book New Yorkers Level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book Intelligence Success and Failure by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book Election Watchdogs by Howard Bodenhorn
Cover of the book Albion's Dance by Howard Bodenhorn
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy