Experimental evidence on bank runs with uncertain deposit coverage

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Banking & Finance
Year: 2019
Volume: 106
Issue: C
Pages: 214-226

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper studies depositor behavior in a bank run experiment with partial deposit insurance. In the experiment, depositors face two forms of uncertainty regarding their deposit coverage in the event of a bank run: (i) “intrinsic” uncertainty related to the size of the deposit insurance fund, and (ii) “strategic” uncertainty, as the actual coverage depends on the number of depositors who run on the bank. We consider three scenarios that differ in the way the deposit insurance scheme reimburses depositors. The results show that intrinsic uncertainty on its own has a negligible effect on the number of bank runs. However, when combined, the two forms of uncertainty exert a significant impact on the propensity to withdraw and result in a large number of bank runs. Moreover, runs are more frequent when leaving funds in the bank is an increasingly costly strategy.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jbfina:v:106:y:2019:i:c:p:214-226
Journal Field
Finance
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-29