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War, Inflation, Monetary Reforms and the Art Market .The Belgian Art market (1944 – 1951)

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  • Geraldine David
  • Kim Oosterlinck

Abstract

During World War II, the art market experienced a massive boom in occupied countries. The discretion, the inflation proof character, the absence of market intervention and the possibility to resell artworks abroad have been suggested to explain why investing in artworks was one of the most interesting opportunities under the German boot. On basis of an original database of close to 4000 artworks sold between 1944 and 1951 at Giroux, one of the most important Art Gallery in Brussels, this paper analyzes, the price movements on the Belgian art market following the liberation. Market reactions following the war are used to understand which motivations played the most important role in investors’ decisions. Prices on the art market experienced a massive drop. This huge price decline is attributed to two elements: fear of prosecution for war profits and the monetary reforms set into place in October 1944.

Suggested Citation

  • Geraldine David & Kim Oosterlinck, 2011. "War, Inflation, Monetary Reforms and the Art Market .The Belgian Art market (1944 – 1951)," Working Papers CEB 11-055, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    • Handle: RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/103479
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ginsburgh, Victor & Mei, Jianping & Moses, Michael, 2006. "The Computation of Prices Indices," Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, in: V.A. Ginsburgh & D. Throsby (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 27, pages 947-979, Elsevier.
    2. Jianping Mei & Michael Moses, 2005. "Vested Interest and Biased Price Estimates: Evidence from an Auction Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(5), pages 2409-2435, October.
    3. Kim Oosterlinck, 2009. "The Price of Degenerate Art," Working Papers CEB 09-031.RS, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    4. Luc Renneboog, 2002. "The monetary appreciation of paintings: from realism to Magritte," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 26(3), pages 331-358, May.
    5. Kim Oosterlinck & Filippo Occhino & Eugene N. White, 2006. "How occupied France financed its own exploitation during WW2," Working Papers CEB 06-012.RS, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    6. Carmen M. Reinhart & M. Belen Sbrancia1, 2015. "The liquidation of government debt," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 30(82), pages 291-333.
    7. Kang, Sung Won & Rockoff, Hugh, 2015. "Capitalizing patriotism: the Liberty loans of World War I," Financial History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(1), pages 45-78, April.
    8. Oosterlinck, Kim, 2010. "French Stock exchanges and regulation during World War II1," Financial History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(2), pages 211-237, October.
    9. repec:ulb:ulbeco:2013/14429 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Occhino, Filippo & Oosterlinck, Kim & White, Eugene N., 2008. "How Much Can a Victor Force the Vanquished to Pay? France under the Nazi Boot," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(1), pages 1-45, March.
    11. Pesando, James E, 1993. "Art as an Investment: The Market for Modern Prints," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(5), pages 1075-1089, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Matthieu Gilson & Kim Oosterlinck & Andrey Ukhov, 2015. "Time-Varying Risk Aversion during World War II: Evidence from Belgian Lottery Bond Prices," Working Papers CEB 15-031, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Art market; Art Investment; WWII; Belgium; Post-war; Monetary reforms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N14 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: 1913-
    • N44 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: 1913-
    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature

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