The Economic History Review· 2026Q1
Banks and the economy: Evidence from the Irish bank strike of 1966
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- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
The 1966 Irish bank strike, lasting 3 months, caused a noticeable shortfall in economic activity, despite a decade of robust growth, due to credit crunches, liquidity shocks, and rising transaction costs.
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Key points
- The 1966 Irish bank strike lasted for 3 months.
- The strike caused a shortfall in economic activity.
- Households and firms faced credit crunches, liquidity shocks, and rising transaction costs.
- The study uses new high-frequency macro data, economic forecasts, micro data, and narrative sources.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract This paper studies the macroeconomic impact of the Irish bank strike of 1966, which led to the closure of the major commercial banks for 3 months. We collect a variety of new evidence, such as high‐frequency macro data, economic forecasts, micro data and narrative sources. Our findings suggest that the bank strike was associated with a shortfall in economic activity that punctuated a decade of robust growth. The qualitative evidence depicts the struggles of households and firms managing a credit crunch, a liquidity shock, and rising transaction costs. This case study highlights the importance of banks for economic performance.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. The Economic History Review, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Finance
FinanceEconomics, Econometrics and Finance