The Norges Bank History Project

Prof. Sverre Knutsen, Norwegian School of

Management BI

Prof. Einar Lie, University of Oslo

Norges Banks objectives and decisions

Write a research based book (monograph) on the

history of Norges Bank 1816-2016

Published in both English and Norwegian

High standard, ‘The definite book’

– Definite for whom?

– How should the research and writing be planned

and organised?

Why do we need a history of Norges Bank?

We can learn from history – possibly

History provides us with roots, identity, and shared background. – Norges Bank is both a ‘local’ and ‘national’

institution. – NB’s history is an integral part of the history of

Norway as an independent nation

Implications for style of research and writing

‘Learning from history’ calls for – comparisons, in time and between countries– addressing a shared research agenda– simplifications and awareness of the historicity of

the object of study ‘The institutions roots and identity’ call for

– broader descriptions, more details, role of key actors etc

→ Conflicting or at least competing objectives

For whom?

A general audience (intelligent laymen in politics, business, news media, etc.) will primarily expect the latter monograph

Academic experts will be more interested in the former (explicitly addressing general research questions etc)

Institutional history, at least in Norway, often try to satisfy both objectives.

– project outline and work plan made by the author– draft chapters made consecutively and chronologically

Still, books tend to be too voluminous, too detail oriented. The traces from a bottom up approach (‘look what I’ve found in the archives’) often striking

Relation between the steering committee, project management and authors

Author must have a relatively free and independent role The history project should be made ‘manageable’ for the

steering group and project management

Propose to structure the writing by identifying a number of key topics (infrastructure or step stones), mainly on the basis of academic relevance. Written and presented as papers in annual meetings

– Some topics are researched in an early phase by assistants and scholars in connected institutions

– Some topics researched by main author(s) in a later phase– The two books are written as coherent monographs in a

final phase on the basis of the papers produced

Five broadly defined groups of themes

1. Norges Bank’s relation to the political decission apparatus,

– Central Bank independence/dependence in relation to political auhorities

– Who have influenced Norges Bank on various decisive points of time, and what impact has the central bank had on public politics?

Five broadly defined groups of themes

2. Norges Bank’s relation to the private banking sector

– Advisor and supervisor– Competitor– Financial stability, banking crises– Handling of crises, lender of last resort

3. Norges Bank and international central bank co-operation

– Norges Bank’s role, influence and contribution– Particular emphasis on Nordic central bank co-operation,

BoE, BIS, IMF etc.

Five broadly defined groups of themes

4. Money and monetary policy

5. Organisation, organisational culture and management

Key topics – five examples

The foundation of Norges Bank– Amidst the monetary chaos in the wake of

the Napoleonic wars– Why was the national bank established as

the parliament’s bank?

Key topics – five examples

– Why was the head office placed in Trondheim, not in the country’s capital city?

– The establishment of branches. Circumstances and role in regional markets

Key topics – five examples

The integration and creation of national financial markets during the late 19th century

Institutional change, monetary policy and the banking crisis of the 1920s

Key topics – five examples

Norges Bank and the postwar credit policy regime 1955 -1975

Norges Bank’s role in the liberalization of the Norwegian financial markets from 1977-1987