Abstract
Historians investigating the risk perception of bankers and the decision-making processes in banks could consider the behavioural finance approach to investigate their sources. In this chapter, this is illustrated using a case study concerning the financing of the construction of a maritime canal at Corinth (1882–1893). It can be shown that the risk perception of the French bank Comptoir d’Escompte can be analysed following the model of Joseph A. Litterer. The bankers’ investment decision was influenced by two biases described by behavioural finance as ‘belief in experts’ and ‘overconfidence’. The analysis of the way these biases came about and worked allows banking, political and cultural history to be combined in a coherent narrative.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Agriantoni, C. [Αγριαντώνη, Χ.] (2010). Οι απαρχές της εκβιομηχάνισης στην Ελλάδα τον 19ο αιώνα [The beginnings of industrialization in Greece in the 19th century] (2nd ed.). Athens: Κατάρτι [Katarti].
Basch, S. (1995). Le mirage grec. La Grèce moderne devant l’opinion française depuis la création de l’École d’Athènes jusqu’à la guerre civile grecque (1846–1946). Paris: Hatier.
Bonin, H. (2010). History of the Suez Canal Company 1858–1960. Between controversy and utility. Genève: Droz.
Bonin, H. (2013). French Banks and the Greek “Niche Market” mid-1880s–1950s. Genève: Droz.
Bowen, J. (1989). Education, ideology and the ruling class: Hellenism and English Public Schools in the nineteenth century. In: G. W. Clarke (Ed.), Rediscovering Hellenism. The Hellenic inheritance and the English imagination (pp. 161–186). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dermatis, G. N. [Δερμάτης, Γ. Ν.] (2003). Λαύρειο το μαύρο φως. Η μεταλλευτική και μεταλλουργική βιομηχανία στο Λαύρειο 1860–1917: Ελληνική και ευρωπαϊκή διάσταση [Laurion the black light. The metallic and metallurgical industry in Laurion 1860–1917. Greek and European dimension]. Athens: Τεχνολογικό Πολιτιστικό Πάρκο Λαυρίου (Ε.μ.Π.) [Technological and Cultural Park of Lavrion (E.M.P.)].
Dertilis, G. B. [Δερτιλής, Γ. Β.] (2009). Ιστορία του ελληνικού κράτους 1830–1920 [History of the Greek State 1830–1920] (5th ed.). Athens: Εκδόσεις της Eστίας [Estia Publishing House].
Durocher, L. (1893). Le percement de l´isthme de Corinthe. Paris: H. Simonis Empis.Fornaro, P. (2004). István Türr: una biografia politica. Messina: Rubbettino.
Giannitsis, A. K. [Γιαννίτσης, Α. Κ.] (1977). Οι ξένες άμεσες επενδύσεις και η διαμόρφωση της νεοελληνικής οικονομίας (1830–1939) [The foreign direct investments and the formation of the Greek economy (1830–1939)]. Επιθεώρηση Κοινωνικών Ερευνών [The Greek Review of Social Research], 80, 234–253.
Glasemann, H.-G. (2010). Die Finanzgeschichte des Kanals von Korinth. Historische Wertpapiere 1882–1977. Norderstedt: Books on Demand GmbH.
Glaser, M., & Weber, M. (2010). Overconfidence. In: H. K. Baker & J. R. Nofsinger (Eds.), Behavioral finance. Investors, corporations, and markets (pp. 241–258). Hoboken: Wiley.
Hautcoeur, P.-C., Riva, A., & White, E. N. (2014). Floating a “Lifeboat”: The Banque de France and the Crisis of 1889. Journal of Monetary Economics, 65, 104–119.
Historical Archives National Bank of Greece. (1999). Jean-Gabriel Eynard. Visionary and architect of the establishment of the National Bank of Greece. Athens: National Bank of Greece.
Iliadakis, T. [Ηλιαδάκης, Τ.] (2011). Ο εξωτερικός δανεισμός στη γένεση και εξέλιξη του Νέου Ελληνικού Κράτους 1824–2009 [The foreign loans and their role in the formation and development of the modern Greek State 1834–2009]. Athens: Εκδόσεις N. & Σ. μπατσιούλας [N. & S. Batsioulas].
Jenkyns, R. (1989). The Victorians and ancient Greece. Oxford: Blackwell.
LeBoeuf, R. A., & Shafir, E. (2012). Decision making. In K. J. Holyoak & R. G. Morrison (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of thinking and reasoning (pp. 301–321). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Levandis, J. A. (1944). The Greek foreign debt and the great powers 1821–1898. New York: Columbia University Press.
Litterer, J. A. (1973, 2nd ed.). The analysis of organizations. New York: Wiley.
McCullough, D. (1977). The path between the seas: The creation of the Panama Canal, 1870–1914. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Mollier, J.-Y. (1991). Le scandale de Panama. Paris: Fayard.
Papadopoulos, A. G. (1997). The socio-economic effects of the drainage of Lake Copais. In J. L. Bintliff (Ed.), Recent developments in the history and archaeology of central Greece. Proceedings of the 6th international Boeotian conference (British archaeological reports, Vol. 666, pp. 365–377). Archaeopress, Oxford.
Papagiannakis, L. [Παπαγιαννάκης, Λ.] (1982). Οι Ελληνικοί Σιδηρόδρομοι (1882–1910). Γεωπολιτικές, οικονομικές και κοινωνικές διαστάσεις [Greek railroads (1882–1910). Geopolitical, economic and social perspectives]. Athens: Μορφωτικό Ίδρυμα Εθνικής Τραπέζης [Educational Institution of the Greek National Bank].Papagiannopoulos, E. [Παπαγιαννοπούλου, Ε.] (1989): Η διώρυγα της Κορίνθου: τεχνικός άθλος και οικονομικό τόλμημα [The Canal of Corinth: Technical Feat and Economic Adventure]. Athens: Πολιτιστικό Τεχνολογικό Ιδρυμα ΕΤΒΑ [Cultural Technological Institution ETBA].
Pohle Fraser, M. (1995). Risk, information and noise: Risk perception and risk management of French and German banks during the nineteenth century. Financial History Review, 2 (1), 25–39.
Porter, T. M. (1995). Trust in numbers. The pursuit of objectivity in science and public life. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Ricciardi, V. (2008). The psychology of risk: The behavioral finance perspective. In F. J. Fabozzi (Ed.), Handbook of finance. Vol. 2: Investment management and financial management (pp. 85–111). Hoboken: Wiley. Data available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1155822. Accessed 6 May 2015.
Sarasvathy, D. K., Simon, H. A., & Lave, L. (1998). Perceiving and managing business risks: Differences between entrepreneurs and bankers. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 33 (2), 207–225.Schwarz, H. J. (1868). Stefan Türr. Zeitgemälde aus Oesterreichs jüngster Vergangenheit. Wien: Albert Last.
Société des anciens élèves des écoles nationales d’arts et métiers. (1885, avril). Dauzats, Guillaume-Vincent. Bulletin administratif, 1111 (245), XXI–XXVI.
Stoskopf, N. (2002). La fondation du Comptoir national d’escompte de Paris, banque révolutionnaire (1848). Histoire, économie et société, 21 (3), 395–411. Data available at, http://web/revues/home/prescript/article/hes_0752-5702_2002_num_21_3_2310. Accessed 6 May 2015.
Turner, F. M. (1989). Why the Greeks and not the Romans in Victorian Britain? In: G. W. Clarke (Ed.), Rediscovering Hellenism. The Hellenic inheritance and the English imagination (pp. 61–81). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Türr, I. (1878). Observations sur la guerre. Publié dans le Journal des débats à Paris le 7 octobre 1870. In: I. Türr (Ed.), Solution pacifique de la question d´Orient (pp. 25–30). Paris: Published by the author himself.
Vlasto, A. D. (1885). La Grèce en 1884. Nouvelle Revue, 34, 263–289.Werner, W. (1993). Der Kanal von Korinth und seine Vorläufer (Das Logbuch: Sonderheft). Brilon-Gudenhagen: Arbeitskreis historischer Schiffbau e.V.
Wurzbach, C. (1883). Türr, Stephan. In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Österreich (Vol. 48, pp. 91–102). Wien: Kaiserlich-königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei.
Zabel, C. (2016). Polis und Politesse. Der Diskurs über das antike Athen in England und Frankreich, 1630-1760. Berlin: De Gruyter Oldenbourg.
Zelepos, I. (2014). Kleine Geschichte Griechenlands. Von der Staatsgründung bis heute. München: C.H. Beck.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schönhärl, K. (2017). Behavioural Finance as a Methodological Approach for Historians? A Field Report Concerning the Construction of the Canal of Corinth in Nineteenth-Century Greece. In: Schönhärl, K. (eds) Decision Taking, Confidence and Risk Management in Banks from Early Modernity to the 20th Century. Palgrave Studies in the History of Finance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42076-9_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42076-9_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-42075-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-42076-9
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)