We estimate a perfect information static entry game to study the effect of cultural entry barriers on entry and competition in the retail banking industry. Canada provides a favorable setting for analysis due to its high linguistic diversity, concentrated market, and regulatory entry barriers. We find that cultural affinity between customers and financial institutions that share a common cultural origin plays an important role in explaining the comparative advantages of these institutions in certain markets. Using several counterfactual experiments and additional empirical evidence, we show that the effectiveness of regulations intended to foster competition is significantly limited by cultural barriers, which is a key determinant that shapes the competitive landscape of the industry. (JEL G21, G28, L13, Z13)

中文翻译：

---

文化亲和力、监管和市场结构：来自加拿大零售银行业的证据

我们估计一个完美的信息静态进入博弈来研究文化进入壁垒对零售银行业进入和竞争的影响。加拿大因其高度的语言多样性、集中的市场和监管进入壁垒而为分析提供了有利环境。我们发现，具有共同文化渊源的客户和金融机构之间的文化亲和力在解释这些机构在某些市场中的比较优势方面起着重要作用。使用几个反事实实验和额外的经验证据，我们表明旨在促进竞争的法规的有效性受到文化障碍的显着限制，这是塑造行业竞争格局的关键决定因素。(JEL G21, G28, L13, Z13)