DOCSLIB.ORG

Foreign Capital and Finland: Central Government's Firstperiod of Reliance on International Financial Markets 1862-1938

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Foreign Capital and Finland: Central Government's Firstperiod of Reliance on International Financial Markets 1862-1938 A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Arola, Mika Book Foreign capital and Finland: central government's firstperiod of reliance on international financial markets 1862-1938 Scientific monographs, No. E:37 Provided in Cooperation with: Bank of Finland, Helsinki Suggested Citation: Arola, Mika (2006) : Foreign capital and Finland: central government's firstperiod of reliance on international financial markets 1862-1938, Scientific monographs, No. E:37, ISBN 952-462-311-0, Bank of Finland, Helsinki, http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:NBN:fi:bof-201408071697 This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/212970 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. www.econstor.eu Foreign capital and Finland capital and Finland Foreign M i k a A r o l a Foreign capital and Finland Central government’s first period of reliance on international financial markets, 1862–1938 Scientific monographs E:3 Scientific monographs Scientific monographs E : 37 · 2 0 0 6 ISBN 952-462-310-2 ISSN 1238-1691 7 · 2006 Edita Prima Oy Helsinki 2006 E36_kansi_ama.indd 2-3 21.11.2006 9:10:16 Mika Arola Foreign capital and Finland Central government’s first period of reliance on international financial markets, 1862–1938 Scientific monographs E:37 · 2006 EE36_nimio_ama.indd36_nimio_ama.indd 1 115.11.20065.11.2006 113:54:413:54:41 The views expressed in this study are those of the author and do not necessarily refl ect the views of the State Treasury or the Bank of Finland. ISBN 952-462-310-2 ISSN 1238-1691 (print) ISBN 952-462-311-0 ISSN 1456-5951 (online) Edita Prima Oy Helsinki 2006 EE36_nimio_ama.indd36_nimio_ama.indd 2 115.11.20065.11.2006 113:54:413:54:41 Abstract The main objective of the study is to evaluate the Finnish central government’s foreign borrowing between the years 1862 and 1938. Most of this period was characterised by deep capital market integration that bears resemblance to the liberal world financial order at the turn of the millennium. The main aim is to analyse the credit risk associated with the state and its determination by evaluating the world financial market centres’ perception of Finland. By doing this, the study is also expected to provide an additional dimension to Finland’s political and economic history by incorporating into the research the assessments of international capital markets regarding Finland during a period that witnessed profound political and economic changes in Finnish society. The evaluation of the credit risk mainly relies on exchange-rate risk free time series of the state’s foreign bonds. They have been collected from quotations in the stock exchanges in Helsinki, Hamburg, Paris and London. In addition, it investigates Finland’s exposure to short-term debt and Moody’s credit ratings assigned to Finland. The study emphasises the importance of the political risk. It suggests that the hey-day of the state’s reliance on foreign capital markets took place during last few decades of the 19th century when Finland enjoyed a wide autonomy in the Russian Empire and prudently managed its economy, highlighted in Finland’s adherence to the international gold standard. Political confrontations in Finland and, in particular, in Russia and the turbulence of the world financial system prevented the return of this beneficial position again. Through its issuance of foreign bonds the state was able to import substantial amounts of foreign capital, which was sorely needed to foster economic development in Finland. Moreover, the study argues that the state’s presence in the western capital markets not only had economic benefits, but it also increased the international awareness of Finland’s distinct and separate status in the Russian Empire and later underlined its position as an independent republic. Key words: credit risk, government borrowing, financial market, government bonds, state finances JEL classification: E65, G15, H63, N13 3 Tiivistelmä Tutkimuksen aiheena on Suomen valtion ulkomainen lainanotto vuo- sina 1862–1938. Ajanjaksoa leimasi kansainvälisten rahoitusmarkki- noiden suhteellisen syvä integraatio; kuten nykyisinkin, pääomaliik- keitä yli kansallisten rajojen ei juurikaan rajoitettu. Tutkimuksen pää- tavoite on arvioida Suomen valtioon kohdistunutta luottoriskiä ja sen määräytymistä kansainvälisissä finanssikeskuksissa. Suomen luotto- riskin tutkiminen avaa myös uuden näkökulman suomalaiseen his- toriantutkimukseen. Lähestymistapa tarjoaa kansainvälisten rahoitus- markkinoiden arvion Suomen poliittisesta ja taloudellisesta kehityk- sestä ajanjaksona, jona suomalainen yhteiskunta kävi läpi merkittävän poliittisen ja taloudellisen rakennemuutoksen. Luottoriskin arvioiminen perustuu valtion ulkomaisten obligaatioi- den valuuttakurssiriskistä vapaaseen tuottosarjaan, joka on kerätty Helsingin, Hampurin, Pariisin ja Lontoon arvopaperipörssien hinta- noteerauksista. Obligaatioiden tuottosarjojen ohella tutkimus arvioi Suomen valtion luottoriskiä tutkimalla lyhytaikaisen velan osuutta koko valtionvelasta. Se hyödyntää myös Moody’sin luokituslaitoksen luottoluokituksia. Tutkimus painottaa poliittisen riskin merkitystä luottoriskin määräytymisessä. Tulosten mukaan Suomen valtioon koh- distuva luottoriski oli alhaisimmillaan 1800-luvun viimeisinä vuosi- kymmeninä, jolloin Suomella oli huomattavan autonominen asema Venäjän keisarikunnassa ja se hoiti talouttaan esimerkillisesti. Hyvä taloudenpito huipentui Suomen mukanaoloon kansainvälisessä kulta- kantajärjestelmässä. 1800-luvun lopun suotuisa luottoriskiasema rahoitusmarkkinoilla ei enää toistunut 1900-luvun puolella; poliittinen epävarmuus Suomessa ja erityisesti Venäjällä, sekä kansainvälisten rahoitusmarkkinoiden epävakaus, estivät edullisten vuosien paluun. Laskemalla liikkeeseen ulkomaisia obligaatioita valtio toi maahan huomattavan määrän ulkomaista pääomaa, jolla se ratkaisevasti edes- auttoi Suomen taloudellista kehitystä. Tutkimuksen mukaan ulkomai- sella lainanotolla ei ollut ainoastaan taloudellista merkitystä, vaan se myös lisäsi Suomen kansainvälistä tunnettuutta. Suomen läsnäolo ulkomaisissa rahoituskeskuksissa korosti Suomen erityistä asemaa Venäjän keisarikunnassa ja myöhemmin sen statusta itsenäisenä tasa- valtana. Avainsanat: luottoriski, valtion lainanotto, rahoitusmarkkinat, valtion obligaatiot, valtiontalous JEL-luokittelu: E65, G15, H63, N13 4 Acknowledgements I became acquainted with Finnish central government finances when I was recruited by Director of Finance Kari Nars in 1996 to the unit of foreign borrowing at the Ministry of Finance. It was an interesting phase, as the birth of the euro area capital markets was drawing nearer and the hurdles between national financial markets were pulled down. The state’s domestic and foreign borrowing activities were combined and our operations were in 1998 moved to the State Treasury, which had earlier been responsible for domestic issuance. During our first years at the State Treasury we adjusted our issuance according to the requirements of the euro markets through concentration of our borrowing in the form of large benchmark bonds and by widening our investor base internationally. We arranged investor road-shows all over Europe as well as in the great financial centres in Asia and in the United States; we explained our economy, political situation and funding practises to a great number of portfolio managers. It was probably this experience combined with my long-lasting interest in history that a few years ago aroused my interest in this study: how were the central government finances arranged in Finland earlier and what was the market assessment during an earlier era that was characterised by a financial market environment very similar in nature to that of today’s world. Very importantly, Director of Finance Satu Huber at the State Treasury was from the very beginning very encouraging regarding my work. I owe a great debt to her. I also want to thank Director General Jukka Wuolijoki for supporting my project all the way from the beginning. From the University of Helsinki, Docent Antti Kuusterä’s guidance with his profound knowledge on the history of state finances greatly advanced my work. I owe a great deal to him. Professor Riitta Hjerppe very much contributed to the final shaping of this study and arranged me working facilities at the University of Helsinki during my study leave from the State Treasury. Docent Sakari Heikkinen’s excellent comments and advice were also absolutely essential.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 1 Capitalism Under Attack: Economic Elites and Social Movements in Post
    Capitalism under attack: Economic elites and social movements in post-war Finland Niklas Jensen-Eriksen Author’s Accepted Manuscript Published as: Jensen-Eriksen N. (2018) Capitalism Under Attack: Economic Elites and Social Movements in Post-War Finland. In: Berger S., Boldorf M. (eds) Social Movements and the Change of Economic Elites in Europe after 1945. Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77197-7_11 Introduction For Finland, the post-war era began in September 1944 when it switched sides in the Second World War. The country, which had fought alongside Germany against the Soviet Union from the summer of 1941 onwards, was now left within the Soviet sphere of influence.1 In this altered political situation, new social movements, in particular those led by communists and other leftist activists, challenged the existing economic and political order. However, this article argues that the traditional economic elites were remarkably successful in defending their interests. When the ‘years of danger’, as the period 1944–48 has been called in Finland, ended, it remained a country with traditional Western-style parliamentary democracy and a capitalist economic system. Before the parliamentary elections of 1945, Finnish Prime Minister J.K. Paasikivi, the main architect of the country’s new foreign policy (which was based on the attempt to maintain warm relations with the Soviet Union), urged voters to elect ‘new faces’ to Parliament.2 The voters did so. A new communist-dominated political party, the Finnish People’s Democratic League (Suomen Kansan Demokraattinen Liitto, SKDL) received a quarter of the seats.
    [Show full text]
  • Porkkala - Hanks - Aaland
    © Scandia 2008 www.scandia.hist.lu.se GORAN RYSTAD Porkkala - Hanks - Aaland A coaatributisns to the history of the Fimish-Ra~ssiancease-fire amegotiationss, September 1944 011 12 January I 945> the Stockholm evening paper, Afiontid- ningen, printed a relegram from Helsinki which said that the people of Aaland planned to boycott the Finnish parliamentary elections which were due to take place in March. The back- ground was said to be that the people of Aaland hade got the impression that, at the cease-fire negotiations between Finland and the Soviet Union in September the previous year, the Fin- nish government had been willing to exchange Aaland for the Porkkala area claimed by the Russians.' The next day the news- paper, Morgontidningen, gave the news a prominent place under the heading, "AaBand does not wish to be exchanged for Porkkala".' A more detailed account then followed, which the newspaper claimed to have got from sources on Aaland. "Even before the Finnish-Russian cease-fire negotiations, there was lively discussion in certain Finnish circles of the suitability of offer- ing Moscow Aaland in exchange for Hanko, on which the Soviet Union was then expected to renew its claims. The Finns thereby argued that it would not be such a sacrifice to hand over Aaland to the Soviet Union as it would be to lease out Hanko or any other part of the Finnish mainland. Nor did certain Finnish circles miss the © Scandia 2008 www.scandia.hist.lu.se 2 Goran Rystad opportunity for malicious insinuations that 'it would serve the Swedes right to get the Russians as next-door neighbours, since they are so anxious for us to make peace with them'." The article then went on to say that, from a Finnish point of view, it was naturally more advantageous to relinquish Aaland rather than Hanko or Porkkala.
    [Show full text]
  • Soome Presidentide Visiitide Mõju Eesti-Soome Suhetele Aastail 1918-1940
    Tartu Ülikool Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond Ajaloo ja arheoloogia instituut Uusima aja osakond Patrik Hytönen Soome presidentide visiitide mõju Eesti-Soome suhetele aastail 1918-1940 Bakalaureusetöö Juhendaja: prof Eero Medijainen Tartu 2016 Sisukord SISSEJUHATUS ................................................................................................................................... 3 1. 1918-1922 – AKTIIVNE KOOSTÖÖ .............................................................................................. 8 1.1 Soome-Eesti riigi suhete algus .................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Eesti ja Soome saatkonnad Helsingis ja Tallinnas ................................................................. 11 1.3 Kaarlo Juho Ståhlbergi välispoliitiline tegevus ...................................................................... 12 1.4 Riigivanem Konstantin Pätsi visiit Soome 1922 ..................................................................... 15 2. 1922-1934 – ÄRAOOTAV SUHTUMINE ..................................................................................... 18 2.1 Eesti ja Soome suhted kuni 1925. aastani ................................................................................ 18 2.2 Lauri Kristian Relanderi valimine presidendiks ning visiit Eestisse 1925 ........................... 21 2.3 Eesti ja Soome poliitilised suhted ja välispoliitilised suunad 1925-1931 .............................. 26 2.4 Eesti ja Soome riigipeade korraliste külaskäikude
    [Show full text]
  • Historisktidskrift FÖR
    Historisk Tidskrift för Finland 1 • 2006 Historisk Tidskrift Innehåll HTF övergår till referee-system ......................................................................................................... 1 HistoriskTidskrift P ä i v i M a r i a P i h l a j a: Sverige, vetenskapen och Paris i slutet av frihetstiden. Synpunkter på de lärdas kontakter, deras vistelser i Paris och Nordens roll i de vetenskapliga förbindelserna ............... 2 FÖR FINLAND 1 • 2006 Översikter och meddelanden HTF De omhändertagna. Av P e r t t i H a k a l a .................................................................................... 35 Granskningar Gosudarstvennost Rossii. Slovar – spravotjnik. Av E l j a s O r r m a n ........................................... 44 Andreas Marklund: I hans hus. Svensk manlighet i historisk belysning, samt David Tjeder, The Power of Character: Middle Class Masculinities, 1800–1900. Av Anders Ahlbäck ................................................................................................................ 47 Kim Björklund, Nylands Svenska Lantbrukssällskap 1856–2006. För, genom och med folket. Av Maren Jonasson ............................................................................................................... 52 Aleksander Kan, Hemmabolsjevikerna. Den svenska socialdemokratin, ryska bolsjeviker och mensjeviker under världskriget och revolutionsåren 1914–1920. Av Ta u n o S a a r e l a ................ 56 Dmitri Frolov, Sotavankina Neuvostoliitossa. Suomalaiset NKVD:n leireissä talvi- ja jatkosodan
    [Show full text]
  • Otto Stenrothista Alexander Stubbiin
    1 Ulkoasiainministeriön juhlaseminaari 27.5. 2008 Klaus Törnudd Otto Stenrothista Alexander Stubbiin Ulkoasiainministeriössä on alusta lähtien ollut paljon töitä. Suomen ensimmäinen ulkoasiainministeri Otto Stenroth on muistelmissaan kertonut miten hän nimityksen saatuaan toukokuun lopussa 1918 joutui melkein epätoivon valtaan, kun asioiden ja puheille pyrkijöiden lukumäärä oli valtava, eikä työvoimaa ollut riittävästi Sisällissota oli silloin juuri takana, valkoinen osapuoli oli voittanut, ja asioita ryhdyttiin järjestämään koeteltuja eurooppalaisia tapoja noudattaen. Suomessa rekrytoitiin nopeasti vasta perustettuun ulkoasiaintoimituskuntaan nuoria kyvykkäitä henkilöitä. Vanhempia, itsenäisyysliikkeessä ansioituneita miehiä lähetettiin edustajiksi ulkomaille. Lisäksi lähetettiin virkamies Tukholmaan tutustumaan Ruotsin ulkoministeriön organisaatioon ja toimintaan sekä kutsuttiin salaneuvos Karl Müller Saksasta antamaan diplomatian työmuotoja ja käytäntöjä koskevia neuvoja. Suunnilleen samalla tavalla ovat mm. Baltian tasavallat joutuneet toimimaan 1990-luvun alussa itsenäisyyden palautumisen jälkeen. Alkuaikoina töissä oli seitsemäntoista virkamiestä, jotka ministeri Stenroth oli suurimmaksi osaksi itse valinnut. Valmiita malleja oli olemassa, mutta jonkun verran kompasteltiin kirjeenvaihdon muotoilussa ensimmäisen vuoden aikana. Tunnettu tapaus liittyy pitkään ranskankieliseen noottiin, jonka Suomen asiainhoitaja Tukholmassa kesäkuun lopulla vuonna 1918 luovutti Ison-Britannian lähettiläälle. Lähettilään ensi reaktio oli ollut, että
    [Show full text]
  • From Silence to Historical Consciousness the Holocaust and WWII in Finnish History Politics
    From Silence to Historical Consciousness The Holocaust and WWII in Finnish History Politics ANTERO HOLMILA JOUNI TILLI ABSTRACT: Despite the fact that there are similar trajectories and turning points between Finland’s and other European countries’ responses to the Holocaust, it is still the case that trends in Holocaust studies and key debates within the field have had less impact on Finnish understanding of the Holocaust than one might suspect. Instead, as this article examines, the way in which Finland’s Holocaust awareness has been developing since the end of the war in general, and in the 2000s in particular, has been intimately linked with the Finnish understanding of its own role in WWII. This tendency was most clearly illustrated in the controversy that took place during 2003 and 2004 with the publication of Elina Sana’s book Luovutetut [The Extradited]. RÉSUMÉ : Malgré le fait qu’il existe des trajectoires et points-clés similaires entre la réponse de la Finlande et les réponses des autres pays européens à l’Holocauste, elle demeure le cas en vogue dans les études de l’Holocauste, et les débats-clés au sein de ce champ d’études ont eu moins d’impact sur la compréhension finlandaise de l’Holocauste que l’on pourrait le soupçonner. À la place, tel que l’examine cet article, la façon dont s’est développée la conscience finlandaise de l’Holocauste depuis la fin de la guerre en général, et dans les années 2000, en particulier, a été intimement liée à la compréhension finlandaise de son propre rôle dans la Seconde Guerre mondiale.
    [Show full text]
  • Presidencialismo Al Interior De Los Poderes Legislativo Y Ejecutivo Y Entre Ambos
    CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIÓN Y DOCENCIA ECONÓMICAS, A.C. LA FORMACIÓN DE ACUERDOS EN EL SEMI- PRESIDENCIALISMO AL INTERIOR DE LOS PODERES LEGISLATIVO Y EJECUTIVO Y ENTRE AMBOS. T E S I S QUE PARA OBTENER EL TÍTULO DE LICENCIADO EN CIENCIA POLÍTICA Y RELACIONES INTERNACIONALES PRESENTA MAURICIO EMANUEL ONTIVEROS BRIONES DIRECTOR DE TESIS: DR. JOSÉ ANTONIO CRESPO MENDOZA MÉXICO, D.F. MAYO 2013. P á g i n a | 2 Dedicatorias Dedicado a mi(s): familia, amigos, profesores y a todos aquéllos a quienes les interese estos temas siempre y cuando se tomen el tiempo de leer este documento completamente; pero especialmente a: mis bisabuelas, mis padres, mi mejor amiga (Ivonne Gabriela Flores Moncada), mi director de tesis (José Antonio Crespo Mendoza), mi profesor y amigo Carlos Bazdresch Parada y no por último menos importante Dios mismo. P á g i n a | 3 Agradecimientos En primera instancia quiero agradecerle a Dios el haberme permitido llegar hasta aquí y haber podido completar el presente documento. Él me dio fuerza para continuar el camino que me trajo aquí aun cuando física, anímica, emocional y espiritualmente no tuve más voluntad para continuar andando. A través de muchas formas, que a cualquier persona le resultan desconocidas e incomprensibles —en su mayoría—, me hizo andar y no rendirme ni renunciar a la encomienda que tenía enfrente. Me ayudó y proveyó de lo necesario para continuar incluso cuando parecía que todo estaba en mi contra. Por más desánimos que recibí, insultos, ofensas, burlas, limitaciones que se me impusieron en cualquier ámbito y obstáculos que se presentaron, con su ayuda pude salir avante de toda situación que se me presentó.
    [Show full text]
  • Pdf På Finska
    ITSETEHOSTUKSESTA NÖYRYYTEEN SUOMENSAKSALAISET 1933–46 Lars Westerlund Kansikuva: Korkean tason saksalais-suomalaista kanssakäymistä presidentinlinnassa huhtikuussa 1938. Vasemmalta kenraali Rüdiger von der Goltz, presidentti Kyösti Kallio, marsalkka Gustaf Mannerheim ja Saksan Suomen lähettiläs Wipert von Blücher. Erik von Frenckellin kokoelma. Svenska Litteratursällskapet Kansallisarkisto 2011 Tekninen toimitus: Jyri Taskinen Painopaikka: Oy Nord Print Ab, Helsinki 2011 ISBN 978-951-53-3373-5 2 SISÄLLYS JOHDANTO ................................................................................................. 6 Tarkoitus ja jäsentely ................................................................................. 6 Suomen saksalaisyhteisö ............................................................................ 7 Aikaisempi tutkimus ................................................................................ 21 Käytetty arkisto- ja lehtiaineisto .............................................................. 37 YHDISTYKSET .......................................................................................... 41 Suomen Saksalainen Siirtokunta – Die Deutsche Kolonie ...................... 41 Saksalaisen Siirtokunnan jäsenistö 1935–42 ........................................... 57 NSDAP:n Suomen puoluejärjestö ............................................................ 70 Deutscher Verein Helsingissä .................................................................. 93 Deutscher Frauenverein ........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Soome Presidentide Visiitide Mõju Eesti-Soome Suhetele Aastail 1918-1940
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by DSpace at Tartu University Library Tartu Ülikool Humanitaarteaduste ja kunstide valdkond Ajaloo ja arheoloogia instituut Uusima aja osakond Patrik Hytönen Soome presidentide visiitide mõju Eesti-Soome suhetele aastail 1918-1940 Bakalaureusetöö Juhendaja: prof Eero Medijainen Tartu 2016 Sisukord SISSEJUHATUS ................................................................................................................................... 3 1. 1918-1922 – AKTIIVNE KOOSTÖÖ .............................................................................................. 8 1.1 Soome-Eesti riigi suhete algus .................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Eesti ja Soome saatkonnad Helsingis ja Tallinnas ................................................................. 11 1.3 Kaarlo Juho Ståhlbergi välispoliitiline tegevus ...................................................................... 12 1.4 Riigivanem Konstantin Pätsi visiit Soome 1922 ..................................................................... 15 2. 1922-1934 – ÄRAOOTAV SUHTUMINE ..................................................................................... 18 2.1 Eesti ja Soome suhted kuni 1925. aastani ................................................................................ 18 2.2 Lauri Kristian Relanderi valimine presidendiks ning visiit Eestisse 1925 ........................... 21 2.3 Eesti ja Soome poliitilised
    [Show full text]
  • FINLAND's RELATIONS with the SOVIET UNION, 1940-1952 By
    FINLAND'S RELATIONS WITH THE SOVIET UNION, 1940-1952 by HANS PETER KROSBY B.A., University of British Columbia, 1955 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in INTERNATIONAL STUDIES We accept this Thesis as conforming to the required standard: UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA April, 1958 ABSTRACT In March 194-0, Finland had just completed another life and death struggle with the Soviet Union, the second such struggle since Bolshevik autocracy- replaced Tsarist autocracy in Russia in 1917. During the following fifteen months, Soviet diplomacy endeavoured to complete the job which the Red Army had "begun. By a unilateral and extremely liberal interpretation of the Peace Treaty of March 12, 1940, the Soviet Union tried to isolate Finland from her other neighbours and to establish a favourable basis for a complete annexation of Finland in the manner of the three Baltic States. Surrounded by Soviet and German military might, and noticing the increasing friction in the Nazi-Soviet alliance, Finland, in order to save herself from an imminent Soviet invasion, grasped the only straw which seemed to offer some hope: a transit agreement for German troops from Finland's Bothnian coast to Kirkenes in oc• cupied Norway. The resulting presence of German troops in the country did save Finland from becoming the seventeenth Soviet Socialist Republic in 1940 or 194-1* but it also involved her deeply in the Nazi-Soviet conflict which followed. When Germany attacked the Soviet Union in June 194-1, Finland tried in vain to have her neutrality respected, and she was attacked by Soviet forces three days after the German aggression.
    [Show full text]
  • The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover: Years of Adventure 1874-1920
    THE MEMOIRS OF Herbert Hoover __________________________________ Years of Adventure 1874-1920 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY: NEW YORK 1951 Copyright, 1951, by HERBERT HOOVER All rights reserved—no part of this book may be reproduced in any form without per- mission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in magazine or newspaper. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Fifth Printing, 1951 PREFACE ___________________________________________________________ These memoirs are not a diary but a topical relation of some events and incidents in a roughly chronological order. It has been my habit to keep notes and documents rather than daily entries—for which indeed I have found little time in life. This volume comprises three parts: the first covers the period from my birth in 1874 to the end of my professional career in 1914; the second covers the First World War and the Armistice from mid-1914 to October, 1919; the third, my relations to the making of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. The first part was written at odd times during 1915-1916 when I was occupied with Belgian Relief. At that time I constantly had to journey backwards and forwards from London, crossing the English Channel two score times en route to Holland, Belgium, Germany, and often thence to Switzerland, Paris, and London again. These journeys were filled with hours of waiting. Wartime boats and trains were always late in starting or in arriving. There was also the eternal waiting in hotels for appointments with officials.
    [Show full text]
  • Who Wants a Cartel? Regulating European Timber Trade in the Nineteen-Thirties
    Who wants a cartel? Regulating European timber trade in the nineteen-thirties Elina Kuorelahti Academic dissertation to be publicly discussed, by due permission of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki in Lecture room 12, Main Building (Fabianinkatu 33), 13 October 2018 at 12 o’clock. © Elina Kuorelahti ISBN 978-951-51-4479-9 (paperback) ISBN 978-951-51-4480-5 (e-book) Unigrafia 2018 Helsinki Abstract This dissertation studies the making and maintaining of an international cartel; the European Timber Exporters’ Convention (ETEC), which regulated the yearly export volumes of seven to nine member states from December 1935 until October 1939. The ETEC is analysed in two levels, the national and international. Analysis on the national level concentrates on the biggest ETEC member, Finland, and to lesser extent Sweden. The dissertation is divided into two parts and six chapters and it proceeds chronologically. The first part explores the formative phase of the ETEC starting from 1931 and the second part follows the ETEC years 1935–1939. The ETEC has been mentioned in some academic works, but the topic has not been studied previously at length. The main research question is who supported, nationally and internationally, the making and maintaining of the ETEC and why. The key concept of this work is cartel and the main theoretical framework is the economic and organisational theories on cartel formation as well as business historical literature showing that even before the birth of modern competition laws, governments, inter-governmental bodies, and banks regulated, encouraged, or otherwise influenced in the formation of cartels.
    [Show full text]