Objective
This project assembles a new dataset on asset returns in four European countries between 1900 and 1950. Most of the information we have today about the performance of different asset classes comes from relatively 'tranquil', stable periods. Yet what happens to the value of one's savings matters all the more when times are not good, and labor income is low. This is the fundamental insight of the consumption capital asset pricing model. The four countries in this study experienced among them the full range of 'horrors and disasters' that could befall investors. By going beyond published statistics on index values, we will obtain a much more accurate picture of how investors fared. Systematically collecting individual-level return data for four European countries at a time of great turmoil will allow me to address a number of canonical asset pricing puzzles: Why are average returns on stocks so high? Why do bonds generally do so poorly? And why would anyone hold gold, given that the long-run average return is quite low? If the recent literature on pricing assets via their value in 'disaster periods' is right, we should find that holding stocks turned out to be much riskier than normally assumed, based on the standard data sets for rich countries in the last fifty years. The opposite ought to be true for bonds and gold. To find out, I will use a wealth of notarial and bank records, combined with tax-based material, a close reading of the legal literature, and probates, to track as closely as possible how individual investors fared in an age characterized by war, political turmoil, revolution, and expropriation.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2008-AdG
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
08002 Barcelona
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.