The Origins and Nature of Scandinavian Central Banking

Steffen Elkiær Andersen graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 1972 before commencing a career as an economist, first as a staff economist at the Federation of Danish Industries, and then moving into banking, with positions at Danske Bank, Unibank, and HSH Nordbank where he was Chief Credit Officer in the Nordic area. He has written a number of publications in economics and finance, and writes various articles in international newspapers and magazines. His latest book was The Evolution of Nordic Finance (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), which explored the birth and growth of financial institutions in the four Nordic countries from the mid-17th century to the recent banking crisis.

Section 1: The Nature of Central Banking.- Chapter 1) Some General Remarks on "Central Banking".- Chapter 2) Defining "Central Banks": Four Criteria.- Section 2: Before the Deluge: The Very Different Origins of Scandinavia's Central Banks, The Great War, and the Four Criteria.- Chapter 3) Sveriges Riksbank and the Four Criteria.- Chapter 4) Danmarks Nationalbank and the Four Criteria.- Chapter 5) Norges Bank and the Four Criteria.- Chapter 6) The Scandinavian Currency Union (1873-1914).- Chapter 7) How The Great War Formed Scandinavian Central Banking.- Section 3: The Inter-war and Post-war Period.- Chapter 8) Sveriges Riksbank and the Four Criteria.- Chapter 9) Danmarks Nationalbank and the Four Criteria.- Chapter 10) Norges Bank and the Four Criteria.- Chapter 11) Summary and Conclusions.