Market Structure And Banking Production Economies: Evidence From The 1980s Deregulation

Abstract

This study examines the changes in the cost structure of banking firms using data from pre and post deregulation periods. A translog cost function is utilized for the analyses of economies of scale and scope. The results indicate that the average cost curves, although U-shaped flattened over time, resulting in an increase in optimal bank size. Economies of scope that existed prior to deregulation appears to be exhausted in a more nonconstrained environment.