Why do banks promise to pay par on demand?

We survey the theories of why banks promise to pay par on demand and examine evidence about the conditions under which banks have promised to pay the par value of deposits and banknotes on demand when holding only fractional reserves. The theoretical literature can be broadly divided into four strands: liquidity provision, asymmetric information, legal restrictions, and a medium of exchange. We assume that it is not zero cost to make a promise to redeem a liability at par value on demand. If so, then the conditions in the theories that result in par redemption are possible explanations of why banks promise to pay par on demand. If the explanation based on customers’ demand for liquidity is correct, payment of deposits at par will be promised when banks hold assets that are illiquid in the short run. If the asymmetric-information explanation based on the difficulty of valuing assets is correct, the marketability of banks’ assets determines whether banks promise to pay par. If the legal restrictions explanation of par redemption is correct, banks will not promise to pay par if they are not required to do so. If the transaction explanation is correct, banks will promise to pay par value only if the deposits are used in transactions. After the survey of the theoretical literature, we examine the history of banking in several countries in different eras: fourth-century Athens, medieval Italy, Japan, and free banking and money market mutual funds in the United States. We find that all of the theories can explain some of the observed banking arrangements, and none explain all of them

Empirical Legal Studies Before 1940: A Bibliographic Essay

The modern empirical legal studies movement has well-known antecedents in the law and society and law and economics traditions of the latter half of the 20th century. Less well known is the body of empirical research on legal phenomena from the period prior to World War II. This paper is an extensive bibliographic essay that surveys the English language empirical legal research from approximately 1940 and earlier. The essay is arranged around the themes in the research: criminal justice, civil justice (general studies of civil litigation, auto accident litigation and compensation, divorce, small claims, jurisdiction and procedure, civil juries), debt and bankruptcy, banking, appellate courts, legal needs, legal profession (including legal education), and judicial staffing and selection. Accompanying the essay is an extensive bibliography of research articles, books, and reports

Folder 17, Correspondence, Lull, Grant, 1933

Captain Robert Goldthwaite Carter (October 29, 1845 - January 4, 1936) served as an officer in the U.S Cavalry, both during the Civil War and the Indian Wars. He received the Medal of Honor for single-handedly holding off a Comanche raiding party in Blanco Canyon near the Brazos River (Texas) on October 10, 1871. The citation reads: "Held the left of the line with a few men during the charge of a large body of Indians, after the right of the line had retreated, and by delivering a rapid fire succeeded in checking the enemy until other troops came to the rescue." Carter authored several books, the most notable of which pertaining to this collection being On the Border with Mackenzie (1935). It documented his service under Colonel Ranald Mackenzie in northern Mexico in the late 1870s, and about his service more generally during the Indian Wars.The Robert G. Carter Papers consists of correspondence between Captain Carter and researchers, manuscript publishers, family members, and others. It bulks with correspondence about On the Border with Mackenzie (1935), but also documents discussions about his other manuscripts, concerning their contents as well as their sale and distribution. A small amount of correspondence with his family is present, as are correspondence relating to his finances. Lastly, two folders of material consist exclusively of letters exchanged with Clifford B. Jones of the Swenson Cattle Company (and the Spur Ranch) and Freeport Sulphur Company

A method for the study and correlation of fission-gas-release behavior of fuel materials during irradiation /

"Contract No. W-7405-eng-92.""UC-25 Metals, Ceramics, and Materials (TID-4500, 16th Ed.).""October 4, 1961.""Report No. BMI-1548."Includes bibliographical references.Work performed by the Battelle Memorial InstituteMode of access: Internet

Spectrum of Pilomyxoid Astrocytomas: Intermediate Pilomyxoid Tumors.

To define the spectrum of pilomyxoid morphology and to characterize the association between pilomyxoid astrocytoma (PMA) and pilocytic astrocytoma (PA), 84 cases of pediatric astrocytomas with pilomyxoid features were reviewed. Forty-two of these tumors had coexistent features of PMA and PA ( intermediate ). With the accumulation of more cytoplasm, fibrillar background, microcysts, and thickened blood vessels, these intermediate tumors were more PA-like and less like classic PMA. In the recurrent specimens, PMAs and intermediate tumors sometimes showed more prominent PA features. Both PMA and intermediate tumors involved sites outside the hypothalamus, optic chiasm, and the third ventricle. Both the existence of intermediate tumors and the finding that some PMAs and intermediate tumors mature into PA-like neoplasms over time, provided strong support for a biological relationship between PMA and PA. Additional evidence for a maturational effect was the finding that intermediate tumors occurred in patients with a median age of 36 months compared with the median age of 21 months for those with PMAs (P=0.017). Features that were often assumed to be poor prognostic indicators in gliomas, that is, necrosis, mitotic figures, and vascular proliferation, were not uncommon in typical PMAs and intermediate lesions. Further follow-up is needed to more accurately determine the prognosis of intermediate tumors