Two Chapters on early history of the Munich Reinsurance Company: The Foundation/ The San Francisco Earthquake

The Munich Re was founded in 1880 and is from the very start till this day one of the leading insurance companies in the world. Despite its long and successfull existance the company’s history has not been reported yet in a way that fulfilled scientific criteria. This paper can be seen as a first step in this direction. Following a biographical approach the focus will be set on the co-founder and first general director, Carl Thieme, who chaired the company for several decades. The first chapter will outline the foundation of the Munich Re while the second chapter will give an examination of the way the Munich Re dealt with the challenge of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906

Business Cycles in History

This paper is a thoroughly revised and extended version of an article firstly published in the anthology "Moderne Wirtschaftsgeschichte" (München: Oldenbourg) in 1996. This book is an introduction to modern economic history for historians and economists. Accordingly this paper has to two objectives: Firstly, it presents economic theory explaining business cycles to historians. Secondly, for economists it illustrates both the possibilities and problems to detect and understand business cycles in the past. The paper is organised as follows: Section 1 sets the scene. It describes the approach of business cycles and provides a number of essential definitions. The next section shortly illustrates business cycles in the past 200 years in Germany (2). Section 3 deals with business cycle theory. To start with, it highlights the long tradition of theories that have sought to explain business cycles (3.1). Secondly it explains the "standard paradigm" (3.2). Thirdly it reviews the latest developments in business cycle theory (3.3). Section 4 discusses the application of business cycle theory in historical research. The last section deals with open questions and unsolved problems from a historian's point of view

Concerns about globalisation - then and now

In this paper the term 'globalisation' means the international integration of nationally organised markets in conjunction with increasing cross-country flows of factors of production. According to this globalisation has been under way for centuries. Globalisation is not a completely autonomous, not even a solely market driven process. Historically, it is for the most part determined by decisions of nation states. In times of globalisation speeding up, typically social and political debates start about the driving forces, extent and impact of globalisation. Already two centuries ago, globalisation has been discussed in a similar way as today. Initially, there is a debate about the organisation of the foreign trade regime. Because change of social and economic structures is an integral part of globalisation, the debate about the impact of structural change is constituent in globalisation discourses. Winners and losers of the structural change try to improve their social position through foreign trade policy. These two levels of globalisation discourses are usually distorted by the argument that globalisation and the induced change of societal structures provoke adverse effects on the prevailing system of values. Because of this the globalisation discourse becomes a matter of emotion and disproportionately complex. The paper demonstrates the three levels of a typical globalisation discourse by using three examples. First, the actual globalisation discourse will be discussed. Second, in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century globalisation has been hotly debated under the heading "agrarian versus industrial state". Third, the typical globalisation discourse can also be outlined by the dispute about the reform policy in Prussia in the early 19th century

About the Relative Efficiency of the Nazi Work Creation Programs

The proposed paper will discuss the controversy on Germany's economic recovery after the Depression and the role Nazi work creation programs had therein. Economic data suggests evidence of a cyclical turning point of the economic crisis in the summer of 1932 with some leading indicators reaching the turning point already in January 1932, which I propose to discuss. Data of the years 1933/34 support this argumentation. On this empirical basis the impact of Hitler's work creation programs have to be re-evaluated: these programs were not the causes of Germany’s economic recovery of but only supported a self-sustaining cyclical upswing to 1936. The basis of that upswing is to be seen, as Knut Borchardt has already argued 12 years ago, in the "normalisation" of the structural relations between factor prices and productivity, i. e. the improvement of supply conditions and profit chances

The German petite bourgeoisie and the decline of fertility: some statistical evidence from the late 19th and early 20th centuries

In dem Beitrag werden einige Daten über Unterschiede in der Fruchtbarkeit beim deutschen Kleinbürgertum und die langfristigen Veränderungen vom Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts bis zu den 30er Jahren dieses Jahrhunderts dargestellt. Nach der Charakterisierung der rückgängigen Tendenz der säkularen Fruchtbarkeit in Deutschland seit den späten 80er Jahren des 17. Jahrhunderts stehen im Mittelpunkt Unterschiede in der Fruchtbarkeit zwischen verschiedenen Gruppen des Kleinbürgertums, je nach durchschnittlicher Anzahl der Kinder pro Ehe. Die unterschiedlichen Fruchtbarkeitsniveaus werden mit den Fruchtbarkeitsdaten anderer sozialer Gruppen verglichen. Es wird gezeigt, daß sich in der untersuchten Periode das Kleinbürgertum durch schnelles Reduzieren der ehelichen Fruchtbarkeit den sich verändernden Lebens- und Arbeitsbedingungen, der sich derändernden Verteilung der Einkommen und Löhne und dem sich verändernden sozialen Netz anpaßte. Dabei wird deutlich, daß im Hinblick auf die durchschnittliche Familiengröße im demographischen Verhalten zwischen den verschiedenen Gruppen verringert wurde, daß diese Unterschiede aber betont wurden im Hinblick auf die Anzahl kinderloser Paare wie auch der Anzahl sehr kleiner Familien, die dem Modell der Einzelkind-Familie folgen. Während das demographische Verhalten unabhängiger Handwerker diesem Trend wiederstand, waren die Selbständigen im Bereich des Handels im Hinblick auf die gesamte Gesellschaft eine der führenden Gruppen beim Geburtenrückgang. (KWübers.)'In this following paper I present some data on fertility differentials in the German petite bourgeoisie and their longterm changes from the end of the 19th century up to the 1930s. As my main interest is in the statistics, I give little attention to the discussion of hypotheses explaining the overall decline of fertility in Germany and the apparent social differences in this decline. After characterizing the trend of the secular fertility reduction in Germany since the late 1870s, I concentrate on fertility differentials between various groups of the petite bourgeoisie according to the average number of children per marriage. Afterwards I compare these differing fertility levels with fertility data for some other social groups. In the period under investigation, the petite bourgeoisie adapted to changing living and working conditions, to a changing distribution of earnings and to changing social networks by quickly reducing marital fertility. With regard to the average family size, differences in demographic behavior between the various parts of the petite bourgeoisie were reduced. But these differences were accentuated with respect to the number of childless couples, as well as the number of very small families, which follow what I call the 'single-child-family-model'. Whereas the demographic behavior of independent craftsmen resisted this trend, the independents in trade were, with regard to the whole society, one of the leading groups in birth-rate reduction.' (author's abstract

Two Chapters on early history of the Munich Reinsurance Company: The Foundation/ The San Francisco Earthquake

The Munich Re was founded in 1880 and is from the very start till this day one of the leading insurance companies in the world. Despite its long and successfull existance the company’s history has not been reported yet in a way that fulfilled scientific criteria. This paper can be seen as a first step in this direction. Following a biographical approach the focus will be set on the co-founder and first general director, Carl Thieme, who chaired the company for several decades. The first chapter will outline the foundation of the Munich Re while the second chapter will give an examination of the way the Munich Re dealt with the challenge of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.insurance; reinsurance; institutions; globalization; global players; economic success; earthquake; San Francisco; Munich

Business Cycles in History

This paper is a thoroughly revised and extended version of an article firstly published in the anthology "Moderne Wirtschaftsgeschichte" (München: Oldenbourg) in 1996. This book is an introduction to modern economic history for historians and economists. Accordingly this paper has to two objectives: Firstly, it presents economic theory explaining business cycles to historians. Secondly, for economists it illustrates both the possibilities and problems to detect and understand business cycles in the past. The paper is organised as follows: Section 1 sets the scene. It describes the approach of business cycles and provides a number of essential definitions. The next section shortly illustrates business cycles in the past 200 years in Germany (2). Section 3 deals with business cycle theory. To start with, it highlights the long tradition of theories that have sought to explain business cycles (3.1). Secondly it explains the "standard paradigm" (3.2). Thirdly it reviews the latest developments in business cycle theory (3.3). Section 4 discusses the application of business cycle theory in historical research. The last section deals with open questions and unsolved problems from a historian's point of view.

The impact of the professionalization of physicians on social change in Germany during the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Der Autor untersucht die Auswirkungen der Professionalisierung der deutschen Ärzteschaft Ende des 19. und Anfang des 20. Jahrhundert auf den langfristigen sozialen Wandel. Ausgehend von einer starken Zersplitterung der Ärzteschaft in einzelne konkurrierende Untergruppen bis Beginn der achtziger Jahre entwickelte sich nach Maßgabe des Verfassers eine durch Professionalisierung geprägte, akademisch ausgebildete homogene Ärzteschaft durch den gemeinsamen Widerstand gegen das Anwachsen des Einflusses staatlicher Gesundheitspolitik. Diesem Prozeß steht eine wachsende Akzeptanz und Hochschätzung der Ärzteschaft durch die Bevölkerung, vor allem durch die vom sozialen Wandel stark betroffene Arbeiterschaft gegenüber. Die ansteigende Professionalisierung bewirkte hiermit, so der Autor, eine stärkere Akzeptanz rationaler Wertemuster durch die wachsende Bedeutung der 'medizinischen Kultur' und war deshalb ein Beitrag zur Abschwächung sozialer Gegensätze. (RS)'The professionalization of German medicine during the late 19th and early 20th centuries apparently develops its specific dynamics precisely in a phase of social development characterized by a threat to the privileges of the bourgeoisie and to the health sector as a whole, which exposed especially the medical profession to the pressure of increasing tendencies towards socialization. The imagination with regard to organization and planning of a great number of doctors was not however limited during this period to the consolidation of medical organizations as combat units to establish professional autonomy, for clearly defined and in the long run increasing social status, or for an income appropriate to that status. Rather, by participating in the development of the system of social welfare and health-related infrastructure, doctors contributed - as a number of authors have emphasized - to a remarkable extent to the medicalization process of the German population. This process can be seen in the rapid growth of receptivity of the population, especially the lower strata, for the so-called 'medical culture' and thus for rationalistic patterns of values and behavior. This function of the 'Hidden Curriculum' of the social insurance and infrastructure system, which physicians helped to shape, went far beyond profession-specific goals, although such goals - especially the expansion and stabilization of the market for medical services - were also attained. In this light, the doctors can be seen as unconscious propagandists and promoters of a type of society which has often - misleadingly - been called 'nivellierte Mittelstandsgesellschaft' (leveled/uniform middle class society). Since the late 19th century, the medical profession has again and again attempted to exclude itself as an elite cultural and income group from these 'leveling tendencies'. In this manner it has functioned as an exceptional agent for the patterns of values and behavioral orientations which support socio-structural homogenization.' (author's abstract

Concerns about globalisation - then and now

In this paper the term ‘globalisation’ means the international integration of nationally organised markets in conjunction with increasing cross-country flows of factors of production. According to this globalisation has been under way for centuries. Globalisation is not a completely autonomous, not even a solely market driven process. Historically, it is for the most part determined by decisions of nation states. In times of globalisation speeding up, typically social and political debates start about the driving forces, extent and impact of globalisation. Already two centuries ago, globalisation has been discussed in a similar way as today. Initially, there is a debate about the organisation of the foreign trade regime. Because change of social and economic structures is an integral part of globalisation, the debate about the impact of structural change is constituent in globalisation discourses. Winners and losers of the structural change try to improve their social position through foreign trade policy. These two levels of globalisation discourses are usually distorted by the argument that globalisation and the induced change of societal structures provoke adverse effects on the prevailing system of values. Because of this the globalisation discourse becomes a matter of emotion and disproportionately complex. The paper demonstrates the three levels of a typical globalisation discourse by using three examples. First, the actual globalisation discourse will be discussed. Second, in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century globalisation has been hotly debated under the heading “agrarian versus industrial stateâ€. Third, the typical globalisation discourse can also be outlined by the dispute about the reform policy in Prussia in the early 19th century.globalisation; international trade; institutions; social norms; structural change

About the Relative Efficiency of the Nazi Work Creation Programs

The proposed paper will discuss the controversy on Germany’s economic recovery after the Depression and the role Nazi work creation programs had therein. Economic data suggests evidence of a cyclical turning point of the economic crisis in the summer of 1932 with some leading indicators reaching the turning point already in January 1932, which I propose to discuss. Data of the years 1933/34 support this argumentation. On this empirical basis the impact of Hitler’s work creation programs have to be re-evaluated: these programs were not the causes of Germany’s economic recovery of but only supported a self-sustaining cyclical upswing to 1936. The basis of that upswing is to be seen, as Knut Borchardt has already argued 12 years ago, in the “normalisation†of the structural relations between factor prices and productivity, i. e. the improvement of supply conditions and profit chances.Unemployment; Work Creation Programs; Business Cycles; Great Depression; National Socialism; Rearmament