Banking Panics of the Gilded Age

by Elmus Wicker

Overview

This is the first major study of post-Civil War banking panics in almost a century. The author has constructed for the first time estimates of bank closures and their incidence in each of the five separate banking disturbances. The author also reevaluates the role of the New York Clearing House in forestalling several panics and explains why it failed to do so in 1893 and 1907, concluding that structural defects of the National Banking Act were not the primary cause of the panics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521770231
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/04/2000
Series:	Studies in Macroeconomic History
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

Table of Contents

1. The bank panic experience: an overview; 2. The banking panic of 1873; 3. Two incipient banking panics of 1884 and 1890: an unheralded success story; 4. The banking panic of 1893; 5. The trust company panic of 1907; 6. Were panics of the national banking era preventable?; 7. Epilogue; Appendix; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Elmus Wicker's fascinating new book on banking panics is an imaginative investigation." EH.NET (March2001)

"Banking Panics of the Gilded Age...enhances our understanding of the crucial developments leading to the creation of our central bank and financial future...this book does make an important contribution to our understanding of U.S. banking history. Wicker's narrative and empirical support combine to paint a picture of the national banking era that is more comprehensive than previous work. Further, his concentration on Clearing House behavior forces his readers to critically re-evaluate their understanding of banking during the Gilded Age." Eastern Economic Review

From the Publisher