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Banks and the Economy : Evidence from the Irish Bank Strike of 1966

Kenny, Seán LU orcid ; Lennard, Jason LU and Horgan, Emma (2026) In Economic History Review
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 three 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
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
in press
subject
keywords
Banks, Ireland, macroeconomy, post-war
in
Economic History Review
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
ISSN
1468-0289
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
46f587d7-8906-4a5c-9ec2-f47a3fb5cff5
date added to LUP
2026-07-30 14:31:51
date last changed
2026-08-10 12:29:43
@article{46f587d7-8906-4a5c-9ec2-f47a3fb5cff5,
  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 three 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}},
  author       = {{Kenny, Seán and Lennard, Jason and Horgan, Emma}},
  issn         = {{1468-0289}},
  keywords     = {{Banks, Ireland, macroeconomy, post-war}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Economic History Review}},
  title        = {{Banks and the Economy : Evidence from the Irish Bank Strike of 1966}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}