Business Activity and the Boston Stock Market, 1835-1869

55 Pages Posted: 20 Jul 2000 Last revised: 15 Apr 2023

See all articles by Jeremy Atack

Jeremy Atack

Vanderbilt University - College of Arts and Science - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Peter L. Rousseau

Vanderbilt University - Department of Economics

Date Written: August 1997

Abstract

This paper examines the performance of the Boston stock market, the nation's premier market for industrials, between 1835 and 1869, developing new indexes of price performance, dividend yields and total holding period returns for bank stocks and industrial equities using annual data from Martin (1871). Using these new series and a set of VAR models we conclude that disturbances in the banking sector, as manifested by declines in total stockholder returns, led to increases in short-term lending rates which in turn led to declines in the price performance of traded manufacturing firms. There is no evidence of feedback from manufacturing returns to bank stock prices via lending rates. The findings are consistent with a key role for banks in nineteenth century business fluctuations.

Suggested Citation

Atack, Jeremy and Rousseau, Peter L., Business Activity and the Boston Stock Market, 1835-1869 (August 1997). NBER Working Paper No. h0103, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=225144

Jeremy Atack (Contact Author)

Vanderbilt University - College of Arts and Science - Department of Economics ( email )

Box 1819 Station B
415 Calhoun Hall
Nashville, TN 37235
United States
615-322-2871 (Phone)
615-343-8495 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Peter L. Rousseau

Vanderbilt University - Department of Economics ( email )

Box 1819 Station B
Nashville, TN 37235
United States
615-343-2466 (Phone)
615-343-8495 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/econ/faculty/rousseau.html

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
41
Abstract Views
1,062
PlumX Metrics