Categories and Causes of Bank Distress During the Great Contraction, 1929 to 1933, New Data from the Archives of the Board of Governors

1929 年至 1933 年大收缩期间银行困境的类别和原因，来自理事会档案的新数据

• 批准号: 0551232
• 负责人: Gary Richardson
• 金额: $ 6.13万
• 依托单位: University of California-Irvine
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-03-15 至 2008-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0551232&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Categories; Causes; Bank; Distress; During

The causes, consequences, and possibilities of preventing the banking panics of the Great Depression have been debated for seven decades. Some scholars, such as Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz (1963) and Ben Bernanke (1983), believe the collapse of the banking system turned an otherwise ordinary downturn into a cataclysmic contraction. Other scholars, such as Peter Temin (1976) and Eugene White (1984), see bank failures as symptoms of ongoing economic events with no special role in the propagation of the downturn.One reason the debate continues is the nature of the evidence. The debate's factual foundations rest upon aggregate time series published during the 1930s and data on bank balance sheets assembled in recent decades. None of these sources provides comprehensive information about the nature and causes of bank distress. For example, none distinguishes banks that suspended operations temporarily from banks that ceased operating indefinitely, or banks bedeviled by illiquidity from banks beset by insolvency. None contains information about all possible events which could have occurred to all banks in the nation. The goal of this project is to provide such data. The investigator has discovered precise, detailed, and comprehensive information about categories of bank distress and causes of bank suspensions. The source for the new series is the archives of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. From 1929 though 1933, the Board of Governors tracked changes in the status of all banks operating in the United States, both members of the Federal Reserve System and nonmembers, state and national, incorporated and private. The Board also analyzed the cause of each bank suspension. The Division of Bank Operations recorded this information on the St. 6386 series of forms. The series comprehensively covered the commercial banking industry from January 1929 through the national banking holiday in March 1933. Observations existed for every event affecting every bank. These events included the major, such as openings, closings, reopenings, receiverships, and consolidations, and the minor, such as changes in Federal Reserve membership, capital stock, charter type, and even street address. The forms also included financial information for each bank on the date of each transaction. This project will computerize and analyze the data.The potential broader impacts of this project spans four broad areas. First, the project will help to illuminate the causes and consequences of the Great Depression. Understanding is a necessary step in efforts to prevent similarly severe contractions from occurring in the future. Second, the project will help scholars to understand financial systems, banking panics, and the links between commercial banking and the broader economy. Third, the project addresses a wide array of issues important for the regulation of banks. Fourth, the educational component of my project contains a mentoring and outreach program with a proven track record of encouraging minorities and women to pursue careers in academics, law, and government.

关于大萧条的原因、后果和防止银行业恐慌的可能性，人们已经争论了70年。一些学者，如米尔顿弗里德曼和安娜施瓦茨（1963）和本伯南克（1983），认为银行系统的崩溃把一个普通的低迷变成了灾难性的收缩。其他学者，如Peter Temin（1976）和尤金白色（1984），将银行倒闭视为正在发生的经济事件的症状，在经济衰退的传播中没有特殊作用。争论持续的原因之一是证据的性质。这场辩论的事实基础是20世纪30年代公布的总体时间序列和近几十年来收集的银行资产负债表数据。这些来源都没有提供关于银行困境的性质和原因的全面信息。例如，没有人区分暂时停止营业的银行和无限期停止营业的银行，或者被流动性不足所困扰的银行和被破产所困扰的银行。没有一个包含了所有可能发生在全国所有银行的事件的信息。 本项目的目标就是提供这些数据。 调查人员发现了关于银行困境类别和银行停业原因的准确、详细和全面的信息。新系列的来源是联邦理事会的档案。从1929年到1933年，美国联邦储备委员会跟踪了所有在美国经营的银行的地位变化，包括联邦储备体系的成员和非成员，州和国家，公司和私人。 审计委员会还分析了每家银行停业的原因。银行业务司在St.6386系列表格中记录了这一信息。该系列全面涵盖了从1929年1月到1933年3月全国银行假日的商业银行业。对影响到每家银行的每一个事件都进行了观察。这些事件包括大事件，如开业、关闭、重新开业、破产管理和合并，以及小事件，如联邦成员资格、股本、章程类型甚至街道地址的变化。这些表格还包括每个银行在每笔交易日期的财务资料。该项目将计算和分析数据。该项目的潜在影响涵盖四个广泛的领域。首先，该项目将有助于阐明大萧条的原因和后果。理解是努力防止未来发生类似严重收缩的必要步骤。其次，该项目将帮助学者了解金融体系，银行恐慌，以及商业银行和更广泛的经济之间的联系。第三，该项目涉及对银行监管至关重要的一系列广泛问题。第四，我的项目的教育部分包含一个指导和推广计划，在鼓励少数民族和妇女从事学术、法律和政府工作方面有着良好的记录。