RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Impact of Banking and Fringe Banking Regulation on the Number of Unbanked Americans
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 106
OP 137
DO 10.3368/jhr.XLI.1.106
VO XLI
IS 1
A1 Washington, Ebonya
YR 2006
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/XLI/1/106.abstract
AB Thirty-five to 45 percent of low-income American households do not possess a bank account. This statistic coupled with claims of price gouging by check cashers has prompted government intervention. I find that state legislation requiring banks to offer low-cost accounts slightly decreases the number of low-income minority unbanked households, but only with a substantial lag. Caps on check-cashing fees also lead to a small, but more immediate, reduction in the number of unbanked among this population. Because price caps may lead to a reduction in supply, welfare effects are indeterminate.