The German-Jewish Economic Elite (1900 to 1930)
In the early 20th century, a dense corporate network was created among large German corporations, with about 16 percent of the members of this corporate network of Jewish background. At the centre of the network (big linkers) about 25 percent were Jewish. The percentage of Jews in the general population was less than one percent in 1914. What comparative advantages did the Jewish minority enjoy that enabled them to succeed in the competition for leading positions in the German economy? Three hypotheses are tested: (1) The Jewish minority was integrated in a dense network of solidarity, which provided it with comparative advantages in competing with non-Jewish entrepreneurs (hypothesis: embeddedness); (2) The Jewish minority had a high level of education that enabled it to gain access to positions of leadership in big companies during a period in which science and technology became very important for industrial production (hypothesis: human capital); (3) The Jewish minority possessed experience in banking and the financing of large projects since the Middle Ages which gave Jewish bankers comparative advantages in entrepreneurial financing (hypothesis: Jewish private bankers). Our data do not support any of these hypotheses. The observed correlation between Jewish background and network centrality cannot be explained by a higher level of education, a higher level of social capital, or a higher proportion of Jewish managers engaged in (private) banking.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 135-162
- Authors
- Paul Windolf, Department of Sociology, University Trier
- Journal Zeitschrift für Unternehmensgeschichte / Journal of Business History
- Print ISSN 0342-2852
- Journal Volume Volume 56
- Journal Issue Volume 56, Number 2 / October 2011
Darf man Fleisch noch genießen? Medienberichten zufolge sind die Zustände in deutschen Mastbetrieben oft alles andere als artgerecht. Ein Tierschutz-Label könnte die Wahl für Verbraucher erleichtern.
Am Ende eines von Katastrophen geprägten Jahres eröffnete in Halle die Austellung Pompeji – Nola – Herculaneum: Katastrophen am Vesuv. Das sachsen-anhaltinische Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte zeigt nicht nur einzigartige Exponante aus den Vesuvstädten, gemeinsam mit dem Wörlitzer Gartenreich erzählt es auch eine lehrreiche Geschichte über das Miteinander von Zivilisation und Natur.