Johan Poukens senior researcher

Research Johan Poukens

Research team

Expertise

- Data management, data modeling, data collection - Economic and financial history (18th-20th century)

BelHisFirm: long-term firm-level data for the social sciences. 01/05/2024 - 30/04/2028

Abstract

Long-term digital economic data are mainly available at the macro level for Flanders and Belgium. However, new research questions require microdata that are only available in printed form. To make microdata on firms available in computer-readable form, research groups from the universities of Antwerp and Ghent are joining forces. Belgium has a long tradition of publishing essential data on companies in the Appendices to the Belgian Official Gazette since 1873. In addition, excellent reference works were compiled at the time for the benefit of investors. These sources contain a wealth of information on companies: date of incorporation, (successive) company names, addresses, names (and addresses) of directors and shareholders, balance sheets and profit and loss accounts, securities portfolios, information on capital increases, dividend and interest payments, relations between companies (participation in cartels, (de)mergers, spin-offs, ...). The research infrastructure "BelHisFirm: long-term business data for the social sciences" will bring all these microdata together in a database and make tools for the visualisation and analysis of the data available to researchers. BelHisFirm will thus enable, among other things, pioneering research on long-term trends in corporate finance, wealth inequality and the economic and financial impact of (de)colonisation.

Researcher(s)

Research team(s)

Project type(s)

  • Research Project

Creating a dataset on ownership of colonial business in Belgian Congo (1885-1960). 01/12/2023 - 30/11/2025

Abstract

The importance of Congo for Belgian companies and investors is well known. Huge profits were earned in the colony, but the beneficiaries of these cashflows are still largely unknown to us. This project will therefore map the owners of colonial enterprises. We will produce a dataset of the shareholders of companies active in Congo and of the asset portfolios of colonial holding companies, the cornerstone of the colonial economy.

Researcher(s)

Research team(s)

Project type(s)

  • Research Project

Archives for the economic history of Belgium (19th-20th centuries): unlocking the historical records and data of companies and stock exchanges for research in economics, finance and business (ARCHIE.BEL). 01/01/2022 - 31/12/2031

Abstract

ARCHIE.BEL proposes a collaboration between the Belgian State Archives (BSA) and the Research Centre for Enterprises and Stock Exchanges (SCOB). The former is the principal repository for business archives in Belgium, the latter an interdisciplinary research centre for economic and financial history at the University of Antwerp's Faculty of Business and Economics. Together, they will facilitate and perform research in the economic and financial history of Belgium by (1) improving access to important archives and records for economic history, (2) collecting and sharing long-term data on Belgian companies and stock exchanges with state-of-the-art techniques and (3) shedding light on the interactions between financial and economic development through the lens of history. More specifically, the first objective of ARCHIE.BEL will involve the transfer of business and business related archives from SCOB to BSA. These include, amongst others, the historical archives of the two principal Belgian stock exchanges, Brussels and Antwerp. They will be catalogued (i.e. arranged and described) according to international standards for archival description. Together with them being preserved in a publicly accessible archival repository, the availability on inventories will greatly improve their accessibility for researchers (including master's and PhD students in economics and economic history). ARCHIE.BEL's second objective will do the same for the historical data that has been collected to-date by SCOB. This includes data on all securities that have been listed on the aforementioned stock exchanges since the beginning of the 19th century (monthly prices, dividends, interest payments, corporate events, ...) as well as data on their issuers. It will, on the one hand, consolidate SCOB's past efforts in this area by implementing a public (online) interface for browsing, querying and downloading data. On the other hand, it will ensure the continued expansion of the SCOB research infrastructure by implementing a NoSQL database (Wikibase) that enhances its extensibility, and, add new types of data, starting with information on governance and ownership, with innovative data extraction technologies developed within the EU Horizon2020 research infrastructure project EURHISFIRM. Finally (third objective), ARCHIE.BEL will leverage these source documents and data for historical research on the microstructure of the stock markets in Brussels and Antwerp and the financial intermediaries (brokers, dealers, bankers) that were active on these markets.

Researcher(s)

Research team(s)

Project type(s)

  • Research Project