Marc Deloof

Professor of Corporate Finance at the University of Antwerp. Curious about entrepreneurial finance and financial history. & everything else.

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

How dependent were Belgian investors on Belgian Congo? This chart shows the share of Brussels Stock Exchange dividends paid by Congo-based firms, 1890–1962. By the mid 20th century, colonial firms were paying 30-40% of all dividends on the BSE.

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

@IveMarx Dit soort van problemen wordt ook altijd vergoelijkt. Deze week weer een artikel in DM over zwerfvuil in Brussel met de typische ‘er valt niks aan te doen’, ‘schuld van mensen buiten Brussel’ en ‘het zijn de onderliggende problemen die we moeten aanpakken’ excuses om niks te doen

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

Note the spike after WW2 ended: firms in German-occupied Belgium were allowed to pay (restricted) dividends during the war, but Congo firms could hardly do so as Congo was outside German control. The profits they accumulated during the war were paid as dividends after the war.

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

How dependent were Belgian investors on Belgian Congo? This chart shows the share of Brussels Stock Exchange dividends paid by Congo-based firms, 1890–1962. By the mid 20th century, colonial firms were paying 30-40% of all dividends on the BSE.

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

@giulio_mattioli Because they pay very badly? I don’t what the situation now is, but a number of years ago a funded Belgian PhD student started at a higher wage than an assistant professor at an Italian public university.

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

In praise of speculation, from Émile Zola’s Money (L’Argent). As someone researching 19th-century corporate finance, reading this amazing novel feels like watching my subject come alive.

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

@stanycrets ‘De hond heeft de dataset opgegeten’

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

@GeertLangenus @DennisEssers Wel, als je tegenwoordig naar Kraftwerk gaat kijken: dat zijn 4 mannen achter een laptop. Volgens Ralf Hütter spelen ze altijd “live”. Geen idee wat dat dan concreet inhoudt.

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

@iowahawkblog With a 1958 Atomium in the background.

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

@UwDienstwillige @IkLeesMee Ik moet bij Luc Millecamps altijd denken aan Guy Thys, die hem naar verluidt opdroeg om, zodra hij de bal had, die meteen weer af te geven en vooral niet te proberen er zelf iets mee te doen.

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

@maiamindel @phl43 One of my (Belgian) classmates’ father was a dentist: they literally lived in a castle.

[Eastern Bloc Visuals @eastblocvisuals]

Office inside the former Ministry for State Security (Stasi) Headquarters in East Berlin.

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

@FrankVanmeenen @GeertLangenus Ik kan je van de meeste economieproffen aan de VUB in ‘84-‘88 zeggen wat hun politieke kleur was, terwijl ik dat van de meeste van mijn collega’s in Antwerpen nu na 26 jaar nog steeds niet weet. 🤷‍♂️

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

@iowahawkblog Yeah, Ricky Wilson was a really great guitar player.

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

@GAltringham

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

@runaway_vol Any remaining illusions I had about German ‘efficiency’ were very much gone after I had to travel with Deutsche Bahn to Munich last year.

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

Link to article: https://t.co/0ya0Tf7hYw

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

New article in @EcHistSocReview: I show that Belgian financial elites were far more involved in companies operating in King Leopold’s Congo Free State than in other Belgian firms, challenging the view that these elites had little interest in the Congo Free State.

[Marc Deloof @curiousfinance]

Nu mijn echtgenote een abonnement op De Standaard heeft genomen, valt mij op hoe gelijkaardig DS en De Morgen tegenwoordig zijn, terwijl dat vroeger heel verschillende kranten waren.
Het enige significante verschil dat ik nog zie, is dat er in DS meer overlijdensberichten staan.

[Bryan Caplan @bryan_caplan]

Never say "Studies show..." unless you can describe at least two studies in detail.