It is generally assumed that the buildup of liquid assets in the USA during WWII played a large role in generating postwar economic activity. Contrary to this assumption, I establish that military contract spending during the war slowed down the growth of bank balance sheets at the state level during the period 1940–1955. State-level bank balance sheets are 10.8 cents smaller per $1 of total military spending by 1949 and 5.8 cents smaller by 1955. This is primarily driven by slower growth of demand deposits. The adjustment on the asset side is largely through reserves and Treasury holdings. Local lending also grows more slowly after the war, but this decrease is relatively small and temporary. This suggests that the local real economy was largely insulated from the slower growth in deposits by the wartime buildup of paper assets. Historical evidence points to the fact that slower growth of deposits is likely driven by a relative decline in demand for deposits by large corporations in war industries.

中文翻译：

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1940年代美国的货币和财政互动

通常认为，第二次世界大战期间美国流动资产的积累在产生战后经济活动中发挥了重要作用。与该假设相反，我确定战争期间的军事合同支出减缓了1940年至1955年期间州一级的银行资产负债表的增长。到1949年，州一级的银行资产负债表每1美元的军事支出减少了10.8美分，到1955年减少了5.8美分。这主要是由活期存款增长放缓所致。资产方面的调整主要是通过储备金和国债持有量进行的。战后，地方贷款的增长速度也较慢，但这种下降幅度相对较小且是暂时的。这表明由于战时纸资产的积累，当地的实体经济在很大程度上不受存款增长放缓的影响。