We provide first empirical evidence that consumer peer effects matter for banks' deposit demand. Using a novel measure that depicts for each county how exposed peers are to a specific bank in a given year, we tightly identify the causal effect of peer exposure on deposit demand through a fixed effects identification strategy. We address key empirical challenges such as time-invariant homophily. We find that a one percent increase in a bank's peer exposure leads to a 0.05 percent increase in deposit market share. This effect has become stronger over time with the rise of the internet and social media, which facilitate cross-county communication. Peer exposure is especially relevant for smaller banks and customers that have access to the internet.
Working Papers​
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Bank Presence and Health
JOB MARKET PAPER
Winner of the CEPR Household Finance PhD Student Prize (discussant: Emily Breza, Harvard), Chazen Research Grant,
Bernstein Center Research Grant, and Columbia Business School Best PhD Paper Award
This paper examines whether more bank presence in underserved areas can improve households' health. I utilize a policy of the Reserve Bank of India from 2005, applying a regression discontinuity design. Five years after the policy introduction, treatment districts have 27 more branches than control districts. This improved financial access in treatment districts positively impacts health. Six years after the policy, households are 19 percentage points less likely to suffer from a non-chronic illness in a given month. Chronic diseases remain unaffected. I provide suggestive evidence that an employment effect, household savings accounts, and hospital credit contribute to the impact. In contrast, personal bank loans play no role for the average household.
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Presentations:
​AEA, Applied Young Economist Webinar (AYEW), Bocconi University Finance Department, Boulder Summer Conference, CEPR Advanced Forum for Financial Economics (CAFFE), CEPR European Conference on Household Finance, City University of London Economics Department, Columbia Development Colloquium, Columbia Finance Seminar, Cornell University Finance Group, Columbia PhD Finance Seminar, Development and Political Econ SF Bay Area PhD Student Conference (DevPEC), Emerging Scholars in Banking and Finance Conference, European Economics Association (EEA), European Finance Association (EFA) Doctoral Tutorial, FIRS, FMA, German Center for Development Research, GRAFSI Zurich, HEC Paris Finance Department, Household Finance Workshop Frankfurt, IESE Business School Finance Department, IIM Calcutta - NYU Stern India Research Conference, Imperial College Business School, International Conference on Globalization and Development (GlaD), John Hopkins SAIS, Macro Finance Society Workshop PhD Session, North East Universities Development Consortium (NEUDC), Northwestern University Kellogg Finance Department, NOVAFRICA Conference on Economic Development, NSE - NYU Conference, NTU Finance, NUS Finance, NYU Abu Dhabi Economics Department, Queen Mary University, Rice University Jonas Graduate School of Business Finance Department, Rome Junior Finance Conference, SAET Paris, SFS Cavalcade, Transatlantic Doctoral Conference (LBS), Universitat Pompeu Fabra Internal Applied Econ Seminar, University of Manchester, University of Oklahoma Finance Department, University of Southern California Marshall School of Business Finance Department, University of Texas Austin McCombs School of Business Finance Department, Washington University Olin Business School Finance Department, Webinar Series in Finance and Development (WEFIDEV), World Bank Development Research Group
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Peer Effects in Deposit Markets
Co-author: Naz Koont (Columbia)
Work in Progress​
Health insurance subsidies and asymmetric information
RCT, co-authors: Lorenzo Casaburi (UZH) and Jack Willis (Columbia)
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Leveraging community knowledge for credit distribution
RCT, co-authors: Lasse Brune (Kellogg), Dean Karlan (Kellogg), and Chris Udry (Kellogg)
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Anti-poverty interventions going green
RCT, co-authors: Jennifer Alix-Garcia (Oregon), Lasse Brune (Kellogg), Dean Karlan (Kellogg), and Halefom Nigus (Kellogg)
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From Profit to Purpose: Firms as Private Providers of Public Goods
Co-authors: Lucie Gadenne (Queen Mary) and Noemie Pinardon-Touati (Columbia)