Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/315202 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
Discussion Paper No. 2025/2
Publisher: 
Freie Universität Berlin, School of Business & Economics, Berlin
Abstract: 
Gerschenkron (1962) argued that public institutions such as the State Bank of the Russian Empire spurred the country's industrialization. We test this assertion by exploiting plant-level variation in access to State Bank branches using a unique geocoded factory data set. Employing an identification strategy based on geographical distances between banks and factories, our results show improved access to public banking encouraged faster growth in factory-level revenue, mechanization, and labor productivity. In line with theories of late industrialization, we also find evidence that public credit mattered more in regions where commercial banks were fewer and markets were smaller.
Subjects: 
industrialization
economic geography
banking
industrial policy
JEL: 
G28
L52
N23
O14
P41
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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