Financial and Business History

Course Director: Erik Lakomaa

Course Overview

The course Financial and Business History provides students with an understanding of the historical development of firms, markets, financial systems, and different varieties of capitalism. The course also introduces students to tools and methods used in historical research and demonstrates how historical perspectives can contribute to the analysis of contemporary economic and business phenomena.

The course has three main purposes:

1. To understand the historical development of different varieties of capitalism across the world and the institutional foundations underlying different economic systems.
2. To understand and analyze the management, organization, and performance of the modern business enterprise from a historical perspective, including the development of multinational firms, globalization, business groups, cartels, and large family firms.
3. To understand and analyze the role of governance systems, financial systems, and financial crises in both historical and contemporary contexts.

The course emphasizes the interaction between firms, institutions, markets, finance, and international trade, and how these relationships have evolved over time and across different institutional settings.

Course Aims

The course aims to provide students with an understanding of the theory and historical development of the firm with analytical tools for studying the relationships between finance, innovation, knowledge, business firms, institutions, and competitive advantage. Particular attention is paid to how these relationships differ across institutional contexts, various countries, and change over time. This relates directly to the literature on varieties of capitalism and comparative institutional analysis.

The course further examines the historical development of trade and international business in a global context, with particular emphasis on competition and cooperation between firms, multinational enterprises, business groups and cartels..

A further aim is to provide students with theoretical and empirical tools for analyzing financial crises. Students study the emergence and consequences of financial crises and recurring patterns of financial instability in market economies, as well as institutional and policy responses to such crises.

Course Format

The course consists of eight seminars, plus up to three student presentation seminars (the number depends on how many students take the course) . Each seminar normally lasts 45 + 45 minutes.

The seminars cover the main themes of the course and are based on the assigned course literature. They combine discussions of the readings, case-based assignments, and student presentations. Students are expected to read all assigned texts in advance and to participate actively in discussions.

The regular seminars include seminar assignments based on the assigned readings. These may include reflection notes, case analyses, or other assignments specified for the individual seminar.

The final seminars focus on the students' term papers. At these seminars, students present their own papers and serve as discussants on another group's paper. These seminars therefore do not have separate regular seminar assignments.

Seminar Attendance and Participation

• Attendance at seminars is mandatory.
• Points for a seminar can only be awarded to students who attend and actively participate in that seminar. Submission of a seminar assignment without attendance does not entitle the student to any points for the seminar.
• A student may, if there is valid cause, be absent from a maximum of two seminars. No points are awarded for a missed seminar, regardless of whether the student completes or submits the corresponding seminar assignment.
• A student who is absent from more than two seminars cannot pass the course, irrespective of the reasons for the absences.
• Attendance and active participation at the student's own term-paper presentation and opposition session are required in order to pass the course.

Office Hours and Course Communication

Questions concerning course requirements, assignments, examinations, or other course-related matters should be raised during seminars or designated office hours.

Course Administrator: Rebecca.Gruvhammar@hhs.se

By the end of the course, students will be able to understand and critically assess:

1. The historical roots of different varieties of capitalism and the relationships between institutions, transaction costs, trade, market organization, and firms.
2. The historical development of firms and markets and the role of institutions in shaping business organization and performance.
3. The historical and contemporary roles of multinational firms, cartels, business groups, and family dynasties.
4. The development of international trade and globalization and its relationship to firms and markets.
5. The theory and history of financial crises and recurring mechanisms of financial instability.
6. Historical evidence and arguments concerning firms, financial systems, institutions, and economic development.

Students should have undergraduate-level knowledge of economics and business administration.

Core and Assigned Literature

• Bordo, Michael (2018). “An Historical Perspective on the Quest for Financial Stability and the Monetary Policy Regime.” The Journal of Economic History, 78(2).
• Findlay, Ronald & Kevin O'Rourke (2009). Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium. Princeton University Press. Chapters 1, 4–8.
• Hall, Peter & David Soskice (eds.) (2001). Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford University Press. Chapter 1.
• Jones, Geoffrey & Jonathan Zeitlin (eds.) (2007). The Oxford Handbook of Business History. Oxford University Press. Chapters 1, 2, 4, 9, 12.
• Lakomaa, Erik (ed.) (2020). Past, Present and Future: Economic History in Eli F. Heckscher’s Footsteps. Stockholm: Vulkan. Chapter 1.
• Langlois, Richard N. (2023). The Corporation and the Twentieth Century: The History of American Business Enterprise. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
• Leeson, Peter T. (2007). “An-arrgh-chy: The Law and Economics of Pirate Organization.” Journal of Political Economy, 115(6), 1049–1094.
• Reinhart, Carmen M. & Kenneth S. Rogoff (2009). This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly. Princeton University Press. Chapters 1–4, 10, 12–17.
• Shanahan, Martin & Susanna Fellman (eds.) (2022). A History of Business Cartels: International Politics, National Policies and Anti-Competitive Behaviour. Routledge. Introduction, pp. 1–25.
• Sjögren, Hans & Martin Jes Iversen (2018). “The State as the Investor of Last Resort: A Comparative Study of Banking Crises in Denmark and Sweden.” Scandinavian Economic History Review.

Additional readings may be assigned during the course.

Assessment consists of two components:

1. Group Essay – 45%

Students write a 3,000-word essay in pairs on an empirical topic related to financial and business history.

The essay should be based on the course literature and demonstrate the students' ability to formulate and develop a coherent historical argument concerning firms, markets, finance, institutions, or other topics covered in the course.

Deadline: 8 March 2027 Weight: 45% of the final grade.

The term papers are presented at the final seminars. Students are required both to present their own paper and to serve as discussants on another group's paper.

2. Individual Seminar Assignments and Active Participation – 55%

Seminar assignments and active participation account for 55% of the final grade.

Each regular seminar includes an assignment based on the assigned readings. Students are expected to demonstrate familiarity with the course literature, contribute actively to seminar discussions, and apply concepts and historical evidence to the issues discussed.

Points for individual seminars require both attendance and active participation. Completing or submitting an assignment without attending the seminar does not generate points.

Students with valid cause may miss a maximum of two seminars. No points are awarded for seminars missed. A student who misses more than two seminars cannot pass the course.

The final term-paper seminars do not have separate seminar assignments. Assessment at these seminars is instead based on the presentation and discussion of the term papers, including opposition to another group's paper.

To obtain a passing grade in the course, students must:

1. Receive points on both examination components;
2. Fulfil the seminar attendance requirements; and
3. Attend and actively participate in their own term-paper presentation and opposition session.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is the commitment to and demonstration of honest behavior in an academic setting. Avoiding plagiarism and maintaining academic honesty are essential to successful study at the Stockholm School of Economics.

Students are required to produce their own work for all assignments, whether assignments are completed individually or in groups. The assignments are designed to assess how well students understand and apply the course material in different contexts.

Students must not rely on another person or entity to write any part of an assignment on their behalf. This includes hiring individuals or companies to produce assignments and using generative artificial intelligence tools, including large language models such as ChatGPT or Claude, to produce graded coursework.

Generative AI tools are not considered dependable or precise sources of information for the purposes of assessed work and may generate plagiarized, irrelevant, or incorrect material. Using such tools to complete graded coursework is considered cheating.

Students must submit original work. Where the work of others is used, quotations, references, and citations must follow appropriate academic standards.

Cases of plagiarism or cheating may result in disciplinary measures in accordance with the SSE Disciplinary Regulations.

Students who are uncertain about what constitutes acceptable academic practice should consult the instructors before submitting their work.

Find the course schedule in TimeEdit

Preliminary Schedule

• S1 – Introduction to Historical Research Readings: Lakomaa (2020); Jones & Zeitlin (2007) Teacher: Erik Lakomaa
• S2 – Business History Reading: Jones & Zeitlin (2007) Teacher: Jan Ottosson
• S3 – Financial Crises Readings: Reinhart & Rogoff (2009); Bordo (2018) Teacher: Simon Billinger
• S4 – The History of Trade and Globalization Reading: Findlay & O'Rourke (2009) Teacher: Erik Lakomaa
• S5 – Varieties of Capitalism and the Multinational Firm Readings: Jones & Zeitlin (2007); Hall & Soskice (2001); Langlois (2023) Teacher: Jan Ottosson
• S6 – Competition and Business Groups Readings: Jones & Zeitlin (2007); Langlois (2023) Teacher: Simon Billinger
• S7 – Evolution of Markets and Firms Readings: Langlois (2023); Leeson (2007) Teacher: Jan Ottosson
• S8 – Swedish Financial Crises in Perspective (Sjögren & Iversen, 2018) Teacher: Simon Billinger
• S9 - Student presentations
• S10 - Student presentations
• S11 - Student presentations

The detailed allocation of seminar assignments, term-paper presentations, and opposition sessions will be announced in the course schedule.

Have you been granted educational support because of a documented disability? If so, please contact the course director as soon as possible so that adequate accommodations can be made.

Contact specialneeds@hhs.se if you have questions about being granted educational support or need a copy of your educational support certificate.

For more information, visit the Specific Educational Needs page on the Student Hub (login required).