Monetary Policy of the Reichsbank (1876-1914) between the State and the Market

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Carsten Burhop
• Subject Area: Economic and Social History
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 523440740

The history of the classical gold standard (1870s to 1914) and the behavior of central banks within this era continues to be intensively explored in the international economic history and economics literature. In particular, relevant works on the history of the Austro-Hungarian Bank, but also on the history of the Bank of France and the Bank of England have been published in recent years. Furthermore, several important papers have been presented on the functioning of the (world) monetary system and on the linkage of peripheral countries to the northwestern European core of the gold standard. In view of the lively international discussion, it is remarkable that although Germany is counted among the core countries of the classical gold standard, there is hardly any recent research on this country or on the history of its central bank, the Reichsbank. This project aims to partially fill this research gap. For the first time, regularly produced minutes of two of the Reichsbank's governing bodies will be reviewed, processed using digital history methods, and interpreted according to the principles of narrative economics, among others. Among other things, existing narratives will be examined and, if necessary, supplemented or revised. Furthermore, quantitative data from archival records will be collected in order to put cliometric research on the Reichsbank's behavior in gold standard mechanics on a more solid data basis and to validate its central insights. The project will significantly improve our knowledge of the history of the Reichsbank as well as the functioning of the gold standard. It will examine competition and cooperation between the Reichsbank and commercial banks, with a focus on action and interaction during financial crises. Furthermore, the relationship between the Chancellor of the Reich and the politically dependent Reichsbank will be studied, with a focus on the influence of foreign policy crises and public finance on monetary policy.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants