Data for: Bank privatization, finance, and growth

Abstract of associated article: This paper examines whether privatizing state-owned banks improves finance and economic growth. To do so, we exploit regional banking variations in Russia induced by the idiosyncratic creation of “specialized banks” in the last years of the Soviet Union (1988–91) that were subsequently privatized. Starting in 1999 private banks including surviving spetsbanks emerged as an important source of external finance for private firms and households. We document that the regional concentration of spetsbanks in the early years of the Russian federation is orthogonal to economic fundamentals that are related to growth after the emergence of bank finance. Results indicate that while privatized banking increased lending significantly, it did not increase economic growth. However, privatization did increase growth when banks retained fewer political connections and when regional property rights were better protected, highlighting the importance of both factors.关联论文摘要：本文旨在探究国有银行私有化能否改善金融环境并促进经济增长。为此，我们依托苏联末期（1988-1991年）特质性设立的“专业化银行（specialized banks，后文简称spetsbanks）”这一外生事件展开研究——这类银行后续均实施了私有化，由此产生了俄罗斯区域银行业的异质性差异。自1999年起，包括存续下来的spetsbanks在内的私营银行，成为了私营企业与家庭住户获取外部融资的关键来源。我们的实证结果表明，俄罗斯联邦早期spetsbanks的区域集中度，与银行金融兴起后影响经济增长的各类经济基本面并无统计相关性。研究结果显示，尽管私有化银行业显著提升了信贷投放规模，但并未对整体经济增长产生促进作用。不过，当银行的政治关联度较低，且区域产权保护更为完善时，银行私有化能够有效拉动经济增长，这凸显了这两类条件的关键作用。