Youssef Cassis is Professor of Economic History at the European University Institute, Florence. He was previously Professor of Economic History at the University of Geneva (2004-2010) and at the University Pierre Mendes France, Grenoble (1997-04).He has held visiting professorships at the Cass Business School, the Graduate Institute in Geneva and the University of St Gallen. His work mainly focuses on banking and financial history, as well as business history more generally. His numerous publications on the subject include, A History of International Financial Centres, 1780-2005, (Cambridge University Press, 2006), and Crises and Opportunities, The Shaping of Modern Finance (Oxford University Press, 2011) among many others. He was the cofounder, in 1994, of Financial History Review (Cambridge University Press) and a member of the Academic Advisory Council of the European Association for Banking and Financial History and past President (2005-07) of the European Business History AssociationAndrea Colli is Professor of Economic History at Bocconi University, in the Department of Institutional Analysis and Public Management. His research interests include family capitalism, the international business, and corporate governance from a historical perspective. He has been a member of the Governing Council of the European Business History Association since 2002.Harm G. Schröter received his PhD in 1981. He worked at ten different universities, since 1998 at the University of Bergen, Norway. His main interest is on European economic and business history. Books: Americanization of the European Economy. A compact survey of American economic influence in Europe since the 1880s (2005), The European Enterprise, Historical investigation into a future species (ed. 2008); with Battilani: The cooperative business movement, 1950 to the present (eds. 2012). He served as President of European Business History Association, acts as referee for many international journals and publishing houses. He is a member of the editorial board of several journals.

• FOREWORD; PART I: OVERVIEW AND METHODOLOGY; PART II: COUNTRIES' PERFORMANCE; PART III: INDUSTRIES' PERFORMANCE

Youssef Cassis is Professor of Economic History at the European University Institute, Florence. He was previously Professor of Economic History at the University of Geneva (2004-2010) and at the University Pierre Mendes France, Grenoble (1997-04).He has held visiting professorships at the Cass Business School, the Graduate Institute in Geneva and the University of St Gallen. His work mainly focuses on banking and financial history, as well as business history more generally. His numerous publications on the subject include, A History of International Financial Centres, 1780-2005, (Cambridge University Press, 2006), and Crises and Opportunities, The Shaping of Modern Finance (Oxford University Press, 2011) among many others. He was the cofounder, in 1994, of Financial History Review (Cambridge University Press) and a member of the Academic Advisory Council of the European Association for Banking and Financial History and past President (2005-07) of the European Business History AssociationAndrea Colli is Professor of Economic History at Bocconi University, in the Department of Institutional Analysis and Public Management. His research interests include family capitalism, the international business, and corporate governance from a historical perspective. He has been a member of the Governing Council of the European Business History Association since 2002.Harm G. Schröter received his PhD in 1981. He worked at ten different universities, since 1998 at the University of Bergen, Norway. His main interest is on European economic and business history. Books: Americanization of the European Economy. A compact survey of American economic influence in Europe since the 1880s (2005), The European Enterprise, Historical investigation into a future species (ed. 2008); with Battilani: The cooperative business movement, 1950 to the present (eds. 2012). He served as President of European Business History Association, acts as referee for many international journals and publishing houses. He is a member of the editorial board of several journals.

• FOREWORD; PART I: OVERVIEW AND METHODOLOGY; PART II: COUNTRIES' PERFORMANCE; PART III: INDUSTRIES' PERFORMANCE

Youssef Cassis is Professor of Economic History at the European University Institute, Florence. He was previously Professor of Economic History at the University of Geneva (2004-2010) and at the University Pierre Mendes France, Grenoble (1997-04).He has held visiting professorships at the Cass Business School, the Graduate Institute in Geneva and the University of St Gallen. His work mainly focuses on banking and financial history, as well as business history more generally. His numerous publications on the subject include, A History of International Financial Centres, 1780-2005, (Cambridge University Press, 2006), and Crises and Opportunities, The Shaping of Modern Finance (Oxford University Press, 2011) among many others. He was the cofounder, in 1994, of Financial History Review (Cambridge University Press) and a member of the Academic Advisory Council of the European Association for Banking and Financial History and past President (2005-07) of the European Business History AssociationAndrea Colli is Professor of Economic History at Bocconi University, in the Department of Institutional Analysis and Public Management. His research interests include family capitalism, the international business, and corporate governance from a historical perspective. He has been a member of the Governing Council of the European Business History Association since 2002.Harm G. Schröter received his PhD in 1981. He worked at ten different universities, since 1998 at the University of Bergen, Norway. His main interest is on European economic and business history. Books: Americanization of the European Economy. A compact survey of American economic influence in Europe since the 1880s (2005), The European Enterprise, Historical investigation into a future species (ed. 2008); with Battilani: The cooperative business movement, 1950 to the present (eds. 2012). He served as President of European Business History Association, acts as referee for many international journals and publishing houses. He is a member of the editorial board of several journals.

• FOREWORD; PART I: OVERVIEW AND METHODOLOGY; PART II: COUNTRIES' PERFORMANCE; PART III: INDUSTRIES' PERFORMANCE