Project Description

Measuring economic activity for the pre-1914 period still constitutes a challenging endeavor. In particular, this applies at a spatially detailed and temporally granular level. However, precisely this data is needed for quantitative analyses that aim to exploit the multifaceted nature of the political and socio-economic environment of the nineteenth century.

Furthermore, the nineteenth century still lacks a comprehensive business history encompassing the full spectrum of firm types, as scholarship has thus far concentrated on the histories of individual large enterprises, many of them joint-stock companies that continue to exist today.

A pilot project on the commercial register of Baden and Württemberg confirms the usefulness of commercial register data as a proxy for economic activity. The data is found to enable the analysis of regional industrial clusters (see, for example, the map depicting firm entries into the Baden and Württemberg commercial registers in 1872), the sectoral composition of economic activity, the distribution of legal forms within the corporate landscape, and the socioeconomic status of founders. Moreover, they permit the reconstruction of broader economic trends based on micro-level information.

Involved Researchers

Sibylle Lehmann-Hasemeyer (sibylle.lehmann@uni-hohenheim.de)

David Knauß (david.knauss@uni-hohenheim.de)

Project-related Publications

Knauss, D. (2025a). Local entrepreneurship during the launch of the Second Industrial Revolution: The complete record of firm foundations in the Baden and Württemberg commercial registers, 1868–1876. Unpublished manuscript, available from the author upon request.

Knauss, D. (2025b). From stock market turmoil to real economic impact: Assessing the Panic of 1873 using commercial register entries. Unpublished manuscript, available from the author upon request.