Working Papers

(WP 93-2 replaces an earlier version listed as WP 92-1)

This article emphasizes the role of nonprice rationing in credit crunches. It proposes a process for identifying credit crunches centered on the political economy of the period under study. The process is applied to the U.S. for the 1960-92 period, and a variable is constructed that indicates when credit crunches occurred. In addition, the article questions the conventional wisdom that Regulation Q was the primary cause of the 1960s credit crunches.