Presentation of unique database on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (1796-1940)

On Friday 17 October, the University of Groningen presented NEDHISFIRM, a unique scientific database on the Amsterdam stock exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world. The database contains financial data on domestic and foreign companies that have been listed in Amsterdam since 1796.

The database, which was co-funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), is a valuable resource for researchers wishing to study the economic history of the Netherlands and the significance of the Amsterdam stock exchange. The database was built using extensive material from the historical archives of the Amsterdam stock exchange, which are managed by the Capital Amsterdam Foundation.

The group, led by Abe de Jong, professor of Corporate Finance, and Herman de Jong, emeritus professor of Economic History at the University of Groningen, rang the bell to mark the opening of the stock exchange on Friday.

The database is funded with two projects: Gauging Past Performance. Creating Financial Metadata for Economics, Finance, and Economic History in the Netherlands (funded by PDISSH) and Taking Stock: The Amsterdam Exchange, Investor Behaviour, and Dutch Economic Growth, 1870-1940 (funded by NWO).