Gertjan Verdickt
Biographic Data
| ID | 1192703 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gertjan Verdickt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gertjan |
| FAMILY NAME | Verdickt |
| SIGNATURE | VERDICKT G |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Antwerp |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7912-5169 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 7 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 10 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 7 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Risk premia reconsidered
Financial history is plagued by a visibility trap. Using the Brussels Stock Exchange (1850–1913), we demonstrate that asset illiquidity introduced selection bias, which systematically inflated historical risk premia. Applying a latent return model, we argue that correcting for this illiquidity decreases the equity and corporate bond risk premia and collapses the risk–return relationship. We show that the assets that were more exposed to selection…
Don’t mention the war
We examine the impact of war tensions on entrepreneurship in Belgium during the Second Industrial Revolution (1885-1913), focusing on how geopolitical uncertainty influenced firm creation and capital raised by new firms. Our analyses reveal significant declines in both as threats escalated. Utilising a text-based war threat measure and controlling for other sources of uncertainty, we document that rising risk aversion suppressed entrepreneurial a…
Financial Regulation and Household Portfolio Reallocation
Railroad Bailouts in the Great Depression
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation and Public Works Administration loaned 50 U.S. railroads over $1.1 billion between 1932 and 1939. The government’s goal was to increase employment and decrease the likelihood of bond defaults. Bailouts appear to have had little effect on employment, but we estimate that they did increase the average wage of railroad employees. Bailouts are estimated to have reduced firm debt, but did not significantly impact…
Banking on innovation
Société Générale de Belgique was the world's first universal bank. It pioneered another innovation: investing in non-listed equity. We use hand-collected data to show that the bank earned significant positive risk-adjusted returns from 1850 to 1934. This offset its flat return on the listed equity portfolio and underperforming bond portfolio. Other Belgian universal banks followed this strategy. As such, we argue that this innovation laid the gro…
Risk Management in Deadly Times
Using a novel, hand‐collected dataset of U.S. life insurance companies during the influenza pandemic of 1918–9, we show that high‐exposure life insurers charged higher prices on new policies vis‐à‐vis less exposed firms. Although the disease surprisingly increased the mortality rates among younger adults, it also increased awareness of the importance of life insurance. We argue that price increases were a crucial risk management tool. Coupled wit…
The Effect of War Risk on Managerial and Investor Behavior
With two news-based measures on war, I document that managers mitigated war risk through dividend cuts, arguably to establish a war chest. Moreover, I find that companies postponed their initial public offerings and that foreign companies were more likely to delist after the onset of wars. Investors reacted negatively to the increase in war news coverage. There is evidence of mean-reversion after a threat of war and a negative drift following the…
The Effect of War Risk on Managerial and Investor Behavior
With two news-based measures on war, I document that managers mitigated war risk through dividend cuts, arguably to establish a war chest. Moreover, I find that companies postponed their initial public offerings and that foreign companies were more likely to delist after the onset of wars. Investors reacted negatively to the increase in war news coverage. There is evidence of mean-reversion after a threat of war and a negative drift following the…
Railroad Bailouts in the Great Depression
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation and Public Works Administration loaned 50 U.S. railroads over $1.1 billion between 1932 and 1939. The government’s goal was to increase employment and decrease the likelihood of bond defaults. Bailouts appear to have had little effect on employment, but we estimate that they did increase the average wage of railroad employees. Bailouts are estimated to have reduced firm debt, but did not significantly impact…
Banking on innovation
Société Générale de Belgique was the world's first universal bank. It pioneered another innovation: investing in non-listed equity. We use hand-collected data to show that the bank earned significant positive risk-adjusted returns from 1850 to 1934. This offset its flat return on the listed equity portfolio and underperforming bond portfolio. Other Belgian universal banks followed this strategy. As such, we argue that this innovation laid the gro…
The Effect of War Risk on Managerial and Investor Behavior
With two news-based measures on war, I document that managers mitigated war risk through dividend cuts, arguably to establish a war chest. Moreover, I find that companies postponed their initial public offerings and that foreign companies were more likely to delist after the onset of wars. Investors reacted negatively to the increase in war news coverage. There is evidence of mean-reversion after a threat of war and a negative drift following the…
Banking on innovation
Société Générale de Belgique was the world's first universal bank. It pioneered another innovation: investing in non-listed equity. We use hand-collected data to show that the bank earned significant positive risk-adjusted returns from 1850 to 1934. This offset its flat return on the listed equity portfolio and underperforming bond portfolio. Other Belgian universal banks followed this strategy. As such, we argue that this innovation laid the gro…
Risk Management in Deadly Times
Using a novel, hand‐collected dataset of U.S. life insurance companies during the influenza pandemic of 1918–9, we show that high‐exposure life insurers charged higher prices on new policies vis‐à‐vis less exposed firms. Although the disease surprisingly increased the mortality rates among younger adults, it also increased awareness of the importance of life insurance. We argue that price increases were a crucial risk management tool. Coupled wit…
Financial Regulation and Household Portfolio Reallocation
Railroad Bailouts in the Great Depression
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation and Public Works Administration loaned 50 U.S. railroads over $1.1 billion between 1932 and 1939. The government’s goal was to increase employment and decrease the likelihood of bond defaults. Bailouts appear to have had little effect on employment, but we estimate that they did increase the average wage of railroad employees. Bailouts are estimated to have reduced firm debt, but did not significantly impact…
Risk premia reconsidered
Financial history is plagued by a visibility trap. Using the Brussels Stock Exchange (1850–1913), we demonstrate that asset illiquidity introduced selection bias, which systematically inflated historical risk premia. Applying a latent return model, we argue that correcting for this illiquidity decreases the equity and corporate bond risk premia and collapses the risk–return relationship. We show that the assets that were more exposed to selection…
Don’t mention the war
We examine the impact of war tensions on entrepreneurship in Belgium during the Second Industrial Revolution (1885-1913), focusing on how geopolitical uncertainty influenced firm creation and capital raised by new firms. Our analyses reveal significant declines in both as threats escalated. Utilising a text-based war threat measure and controlling for other sources of uncertainty, we document that rising risk aversion suppressed entrepreneurial a…
Business (5 works) · Economics (4 works) · Finance (4 works) · Corporate Finance and Governance (3 works) · Finance (3 works) · Bond (2 works) · Financial Markets and Investment Strategies (2 works) · Financial system (2 works) · Historical Economic and Social Studies (2 works) · Italy: Economic History and Contemporary Issues (2 works)