Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/268939 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Citation: 
[Journal:] The Journal of Finance [ISSN:] 1540-6261 [Volume:] 77 [Issue:] 6 [Publisher:] Wiley [Place:] Hoboken, NJ [Year:] 2022 [Pages:] 3339-3372
Publisher: 
Wiley, Hoboken, NJ
Abstract: 
Do financial crises radicalize voters? We study Germany's 1931 banking crisis, collecting new data on bank branches and firm-bank connections. Exploiting cross-sectional variation in precrisis exposure to the bank at the center of the crisis, we show that Nazi votes surged in locations more affected by its failure. Radicalization in response to the shock was exacerbated in cities with a history of anti-Semitism. After the Nazis seized power, both pogroms and deportations were more frequent in places affected by the banking crisis. Our results suggest an important synergy between financial distress and cultural predispositions, with far-reaching consequences.
Subjects: 
financial crises
political extremism
populism
anti-semitism
culture
Great Depression
JEL: 
E44
G01
G21
N20
P16
Published Version’s DOI: 
older Version: 
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Accepted Manuscript (Postprint)
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