Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
This paper surveys the recent developments in information economics in so far as they relate to banking and financial intermediation. Attention is restricted to microeconomic issues. Banks are seen as institutions that, by gathering and processing information, can reduce transaction costs and induce more efficient allocations. Separate sections of the paper deal with the bank/borrower relation, the bank/lender relation, competition between banks, and the comparison between bank finance and market finance. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the recent theory for the regulation of the banking sector. Copyright 1994 by Oxford University Press.