Risk management regulation and corporate demand for reinsurance in the Spanish Autarky (1940-1952)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1344/rhiihr.v31i84.31954

Keywords:

Insurance, Risk Management, Reinsurance, Regulation, Spain

Abstract

This paper examines the changes to reinsurance regulation implemented during the Spanish autarky to analyze how the restriction of imports of financial services affects the performance of the insurance and risk management industry. We build a novel dataset on domestic insurers and reinsurers to identify the effects of the barriers to purchasing foreign reinsurance on corporate strategies and ultimately, on the determinants of reinsurance demand. We find that, in spite of a chronic dependence on foreign risk exchange networks, Spanish insurers faced this period of isolation by means of an intensive use of captive reinsurance. This strategy helped to alleviate financial distress and resulted in the substitution of foreign reinsurers by domestic companies, as far as the restrictive regulation was in force.

 

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Author Biographies

Pablo Gutiérrez González, Universidad de Sevilla

Profesor Ayudante Doctor

Departamento de Economía e Historia económica

Jerònia Pons Pons, Universidad de Sevilla

Catedrática de Universidad

Departamento de Economía e Historia económica

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Published

2022-03-15

How to Cite

Gutiérrez González, Pablo, and Jerònia Pons Pons. 2022. “Risk Management Regulation and Corporate Demand for Reinsurance in the Spanish Autarky (1940-1952)”. Revista De Historia Industrial — Industrial History Review 31 (84):175-203. https://doi.org/10.1344/rhiihr.v31i84.31954.

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