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Decision Taking, Confidence and Risk Management in Banks from Early Modernity to the 20th Century pp 147–171Cite as

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The “Reputation Approach” and the Justificatory Function of Economic Calculation. Some Critical Reflections on Monika Pohle Fraser’s Analysis of Risk Management Techniques in the Nineteenth Century

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Abstract

In this article, Sebastian Knake gives an interpretation of formal risk calculations as a source of justification for industrial investment decisions in the case of fundamental uncertainty. Monika Pohle Fraser’s historical analysis of the risk management practices of German and French banks in the nineteenth century provides a basis. Knake first presents the central results of Pohle Fraser’s unpublished dissertation and discusses the theoretical implications of her conclusions. Knake then compares her approach with the theoretical assumptions of the justification theory included in the ‘Économie des Conventions’. He proposes the analysis of justification discourses as a way to better understand the processes that lead to investment decisions. Finally, Knake tests his proposal on a short example from his own empirical work on the Braunschweigische Staatsbank in the 1950s.

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  1. Fakultät für Geschichtswissenschaften, Philosophie und Theologie, Universität Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

    Sebastian Knake

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Correspondence to Sebastian Knake .

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  1. University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany

    Korinna Schönhärl

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Knake, S. (2017). The “Reputation Approach” and the Justificatory Function of Economic Calculation. Some Critical Reflections on Monika Pohle Fraser’s Analysis of Risk Management Techniques in the Nineteenth Century. 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_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42076-9_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

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