Zegarra Basurco, Luis Felipe2019-09-032019-09-032012https://repositorio.pucp.edu.pe/index/handle/123456789/166758This article analyzes the impact of free-banking on the banking sector in Latin America in the 19th and early 20th centuries. I use data for seven countries to compare the entry of banks and the growth of bank output prior and after the enactment of free-banking laws to determine whether free-banking (by establishing general requirements for granting note-issuance rights) lowered barriers to entry. The results show that in most Latin American countries the adoption of free-banking laws did not cause in the short run an increase in bank entry and in bank output growth.enginfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/pe/Latin AmericaBanking sectorBank lawsBank entryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/workingPaperhttp://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#5.02.04http://dx.doi.org/10.7835/ccwp-2012-09-0006