Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Lund Papers in Economic History,
Lund University, Department of Economic History

No 176: Wildcat Bankers or Political Failure? The Irish Financial Pantomime, 1797-1826

Seán Kenny () and John D. Turner
Additional contact information
Seán Kenny: Department of Economic History, Lund University, Postal: Department of Economic History, Lund University, Box 7083, S-220 07 Lund, Sweden
John D. Turner: Queen's University Belfast

Abstract: Using a new biography of banks, we examine the stability of Irish banking from 1797 to 1826 by constructing a failure rate series. We find that the ultimate cause of the frequent and severe banking crises was the crisis-prone structure of the banking system, which was designed to benefit the political elite. There is little evidence to suggest that wildcat banking or the failure of the Bank of Ireland to act as a lender of last resort were to blame. We also find that the main economic effect of the episodic crises was major diminutions in the money supply.

Keywords: banking crisis; bank failure; Ireland; partnership; wildcat banking; political economy of banking

JEL-codes: E42; G21; N13; N23

68 pages, June 21, 2018

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