Review

Author names and contact information.

This article considers a model in which both the resource cost of saving through intermediaries and monetary policy, specifically the money growth rate, are important determinants of (i) whether banks are used and (ii) the level of per capita income.

Commentary on "Monetary Policy and Financial Market Evolution" by Valerie R. Bencivenga and Bruce D. Smith.

This article selectively discusses recent empirical work on the controversial issue of whether financial systems play a critical role in determining long-run rates of economic growth.

Commentary on "More on Finance and Growth: More Finance, More Growth?" by Luigi Zingales.

This article begins by analyzing the progress that has been made on dating equity market liberalization. The authors examine regulatory changes, the ability of investors to access the local market via proxies such as country funds, and the behavior of foreign portfolio holdings. 

Commentary on "Equity Market Liberalization in Emerging Markets" by Geert Bekaert, Campbell R. Harvey, and Christian T. Lundblad.

This article attempts to narrow the gap between the views of economic historians and macroeconomists studying finance and growth. The authors illustrate with standard macroeconometric techniques that the historical time series that are available for Amsterdam (1640-1794), England (1720-1850), the United States (1790-1850), and Meiji Japan (1880-1913) are consistent with the “finance-led” growth hypothesis.

Commentary on "Historical Perspectives on Financial Development and Economic Growth" by Peter L. Rousseau.

This article focuses on how one dimension of broad-based bank deregulation—the removal of limits on bank entry and expansion—affected economic performance. In a nutshell, the results suggest that this regulatory change was followed by better performance of the real economy. State economies grew faster and had higher rates of new business formation after this deregulation.

Commentary on "The Real Effects of U.S. Banking Deregulation" by Philip E. Strahan.

This article reflects a first attempt to examine the effect of bank competition on the life-cycle dynamics of industrial sectors. More precisely, the author measures the effect of bank competition on the rates of job creation and destruction in U.S. manufacturing plants belonging to different age groups.

Commentary on "Life-Cycle Dynamics in Industrial Sectors: The Role of Banking Market Structure" by Nicola Cetorelli.