Working Papers

1. Welfare Implications of Financial Access on Trade: Evidence Using Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) loans (job market paper)-  with John Chung                                                                                                                                        Link to draft: Paper

SUMMARY
This study examines how improved financial access affects trade outcomes for SMEs in global markets, focusing on the U.S. Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which promotes credit availability in underserved areas. Using a structural model and embedding the results in it from an instrumental variable approach based on bank branch distribution, the analysis shows that CRA-backed loans help SMEs overcome international entry barriers, enhancing welfare. A 10% increase in credit access boosts SME exports by 3.7%, supporting global expansion. We also show that the welfare gains from demand shocks are limited in credit-constrained areas, highlighting the need for targeted financial policies.

SUMMARY 
 
By incorporating staggered intrastate banking deregulation into a gravity model, this paper investigates the causal impact of intrastate geographical expansion on a bank's costs of interest-bearing liabilities. The focus of the analysis is on bank holding companies (BHCs) that expand solely within their home state. Our study finds that intrastate geographical expansion results in lower costs of funds and deposits. Furthermore, we identify three channels - market power, risk reduction, and agency friction - through which these cost savings are achieved. Our research shows that market power is a significant factor contributing to the cost reduction, as intrastate geographical expansion strengthens market power. Additionally, we find that the expansion of high-risk BHCs within states has a smaller impact on lowering costs compared to other BHCs. In addition, our findings indicate that the cost savings are diminished when BHCs expand into counties that have highly correlated environmental conditions and experience more natural disasters. Finally, we observe that the expansion of smaller BHCs with mild agency frictions has a larger impact on reducing deposit costs, but not fund costs, compared to other BHCs. 

In Progress

SUMMARY
This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on various industries influenced labor supply across age groups. It uses data from the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) and the Current Population Survey (CPS) to analyze industry-specific layoffs and changes in job holding patterns. Employing a difference-in-differences approach, the study observes that industries hit hardest by the pandemic, such as accommodation and food services, saw substantial layoffs, prompting workers in these fields to adjust their labor supply. Younger workers were less affected in primary and secondary jobs, while mid-aged workers increased hours in primary jobs and decreased hours in secondary jobs. The study also conducts an event analysis to further assess these changes over time, noting potential deviations from the parallel trends assumption. The findings contribute insights into labor dynamics in response to industry-level shocks. See the figures and tables Figures and Tables

Publications 

1. Seal, J. K., & Paul, A. (2019). Does direct sold funds provide a sizeable edge to investors? - Evidences selected mutual funds in India. Cogent Economics & Finance, 7(1).