Study Center for Companies and Exchanges

Activities

Projects

During its existence SCOB has acquired a lot of projects and several PhDs were made that made use of these data. We give all of these in chronological order.

The most recent one is a project between "het Rijksarchief" (STATE ARCHIVES) and SCOB (University of Antwerp), called ARCHIE.BEL

The 1st of September 2022, the project “ARCHIE.BEL: archives for the economic history of Belgium (19th-20th century)” was launched. The project financed by BELSPO (Belgian Science Policy Office, the Federal Public Service Science Policy) is a collaboration between SCOB (Study Center for Enterprise and Stock Exchange, University of Antwerp) and the National Archives of Antwerp-Beveren. It includes a retrieval and a digitization component.

The first part, carried out within the State Archives, will promote the accessibility of sources of great value for financial and business history. It includes the transfer and inventory of archives and collections currently held by SCOB. The archives of the stock exchanges of Brussels and Antwerp will be made accessible as a priority during the first two years of the project.

The second part is carried out at the University and is in line with SCOB's second objective, the digitization of data. Based on the authentic price lists of Brussels and Antwerp, SCOB built a database with stock exchange and company data. Within ARCHIE.BEL, work will be done on an online interface with which a wide audience can search and visualize this data. Also see

https://www.contemporanea.be/nl/article/20224archievenarchiebel

EURHISFIRM: a new European Infrastructure Development project (2018-2021)

Long-term company-level data for Europe: Funding for building a New Research Data Infrastructure.

The EURHISFIRM project continues the work of the EURHISTOCK research group. This project will make a design study for a European wide historical database on companies, including data on stock exchanges as well as documents on cultural heritage. 

> eurhisfirm.eu

Projects (1998-2014)

  • GOA - BOF project (1/1/1998-31/12/2002)
    "Cataloguing and Digitalising the archives of the Brussels Stock Exchange"
    Promotors: Prof. Dr. J. Annaert, Prof. Dr. L. Cuyvers, Prof. Dr. M. De Ceuster, Prof. Dr. G. Devos, Prof. H. Houtman-De Smedt, Prof. Dr. J. Paredaens
    Researchers: Frans Buelens, Arvid Claassens, Nele Dexters, Hans Willems.
    Due to this project we succeeded in transforming all of the official price lists in an Oracle database.
  • FWO-project (2002-2005)
    "The financing policies of Belgian listed firms: A long term perspective"
    Promotor: Prof. Dr. Marc Deloof
    Co-promotors: Prof. Dr. Jan Annaert and Prof. Dr. Marc De Ceuster
    Researchers: Wouter van Overfelt (2002-2004) and Annelies Roggeman (2004-2005)
  • BOF-NOI Project (1/10/2002-30/9/2004)
    "A Financial-historical analysis of stock related data of Belgian railway companies"
    Promotor: Prof. Dr. Julien Van den Broeck
    Researcher: Frans Buelens
  • NBB (National Bank of Belgium) (2003)
    "Unlocking of a financial journal: the Moniteur des Int�r�ts Mat�riels (1865-1914)"
    Promotors: Prof. Dr. J. Annaert, Prof. Dr. L. Cuyvers, Prof. Dr. M. De Ceuster, Prof. Dr. G. Devos, Prof. H. Houtman-De Smedt, Prof. Dr. J. Paredaens
    Researcher: Johan Hanssens.
  • FWO-Project (2004-2007)
    "Causes and consequences of interlocking directorships and seat accumulation in Belgian companies"
    Promotor: Prof. Dr. Marc Deloof
    Co-promotor: Prof. Dr. Ludo Cuyvers
    Researcher: An Rommens. 
  • BOF-NOI Project (2004-2006)
    "A Financial-historical analysis of stock related data of Belgian companies active in Congo (1891-1960)"
    Promotor: Prof. Dr. Stefaan Marysse
    Co-promotor: Prof. Dr. H. Houtman-De Smedt
    Researcher: Frans Buelens.
  • NBB (National Bank of Belgium) (2006-2007)
    "Construction of a TOP 20 total return index for the Brussels Stock Exchange 1832-2005"
    Promotors: Prof. Dr. J. Annaert, Prof. Dr. L. Cuyvers, Prof. Dr. M. De Ceuster, Prof.Dr.M. Deloof, Prof. Dr. G. Devos, Prof. H. Houtman-De Smedt, Prof. Dr. J. Paredaens
    Researcher: Frans Buelens.
  • FWO-Project (2007-2010)
    "Predictability of long term returns on the Brussels Stock Exchange"
    Promotor: Prof. Dr. Marc De Ceuster
    Co-promotors: Prof. Dr. Jan Annaert and Prof.Dr. Ann De Schepper
    Researcher: Frans Buelens. 
  • FWO-Project (2007-2010)
    "Business groups, political connections and institutions: a long term analysis (2007-10)
    Promotors: Prof. Dr. Marc Deloof and Prof.Dr.Ludo Cuyvers
    Researcher: Mihaela-Livia Ghitas 
  • NBB (National Bank of Belgium) (2010-2011)
    "Construction of a BOND INDEX for the Brussels Stock Exchange 1832-2008"
    Promotors: Prof. Dr. J. Annaert and Prof. Dr. M. Deloof
    Researcher: Frans Buelens.
  • Project (2014-2016)
    "The long-run evolution of dividend policy in Belgium: 1832-2012
    Promotors: Prof. Dr. Marc Deloof and Prof.Dr. Jan Annaert
    Researcher: Leentje Moortgat 
  • PHD-research based on SCOB-data
    • "The forgotten stock exchanges of Belgium, an institutional view on the liberalization of the stock exchange in 1867, beyond an Antwerp and Brussels perspective."
      Promotor: Prof. Dr. G. Devos
      Co-Promotors: Prof. Dr. H. Houtman-De Smedt, Prof. Dr. L. Cuyvers
      Researcher: Hans Willems. Hans Willems obtained his PhD in 2006.
    • "The role of universal banks in Belgium: a historical perspective"
      Promotor: Marc Deloof
      Researcher: Wouter Van Overfelt. Wouter van Overfelt obtained his PhD in 2008. Title of his PhD was An Empirical Assessment of Financial Reporting, corporate Finance and Corporate Performnance during the First Era of Globalisation.
    • "Causes and consequences of interlocking directorships and seat accumulation in Belgian companies"
      Promotor: Marc Deloof
      Researcher: An Rommens. An Rommens obtained her PhD in 2008 (title of her PhD was Empirical studies on business groups in Belgium : Interlocking directorates, dividend policy and profitability.
    • "Dividends: a historical perspective"
      Promotors: Marc Deloof and Jan Annaert
      Researcher: Annelies Roggeman
    • "The predictability of Bond and Stock returns and the implications for portfolio allocation" Promotor: Jan Annaert
      Researcher: Wim Van Hyfte
      The pubic defence took place at the University of Ghent on the 27th of May 2005 where Wim Van Hyfte obtained his PhD.

Conferences

EURHISTOCK V: History of European Stock Exchanges

University of Antwerp, 23-24 May 2013

As in Madrid (2009), Cambridge (2010), Paris (2011), and Bonn (2012), the fifth edition of the Eurhistock workshop provided a meeting point for financial and economic historians as well as financial economists interested in the long term changes of European financial markets. William N. Goetzmann (Yale School of Management) has held the keynote speech.

Organising committee:

  • Jan Annaert (University of Antwerp)
  • Frans Buelens (University of Antwerp)
  • Erik Buyst (KU Leuven)
  • Marc De Ceuster (University of Antwerp)
  • Marc Deloof (University of Antwerp)
  • Kim Oosterlinck (Université Libre de Bruxelles).

SPONSORED BY LEO STEVENS, Schildersstraat 33, Antwerpen

International Conference on Long-Term Perspectives on Business, Finance and Institutions What Can We Learn from the Past?

October 19-20, 2006

Organised by:
The Studiecentrum Onderneming en Beurs - SCOB and the Centrum voor Bedrijfsgeschiedenis of the University of Antwerp, Belgium

Focus:The objective of this conference was to bring together recent economic and historical research that investigates the development of business and finance over the past centuries, how it interacted with legal, economic and political institutions, and the impact on economic performance. We welcomed a lot of contributions on accounting, business, corporate governance, finance and economic performance from a historical perspective. We welcomed also contributions that focused on the role of institutions, and contributions based on long time series analysis.

Keynote Speakers were:

  • Youssef Cassis, Université de Genève, Switzerland

  • Elroy Dimson, Business School, UK

  • Eric Ghysels, University of North Carolina - Chapell Hill, USA

  • Gregory Waymire, Emory University Atlanta - Georgia, USA

Scientific Committee:

  • Ludo Cuyvers (University of Antwerp) - Co-Chair

  • Greta Devos (University of Antwerp) - Co-Chair

  • Jan Annaert (Ghent University)

  • Frans Buelens (University of Antwerp)

  • Erik Buyst (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)

  • Kees Camfferman (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • Marc De Ceuster (University of Antwerp)

  • Marc Deloof (University of Antwerp)

  • Abe de Jong (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeurt (Ecole des Hautes études en Sciences Sociales - Paris)

  • Helma Houtman - De Smedt (University of Antwerp)

  • Kim Oosterlinck (Université Libre de Bruxelles)

  • Julien van den Broeck (University of Antwerp)

Organisation 

The conference was organised by Marc Deloof. For any information on this past conference visit our website or contact Marc Deloof - Department of Accounting and Finance, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium 

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