Economic history is an important part of our understanding of current economic phenomena, and for making decisions about economic policy. This calls for high-quality data of relevance to price stability and financial stability, the two main areas of responsibility for central banks.
Norges Bank has increased its ambitions to provide documentation on Norwegian economic history. In collaboration with Professor Ola H.Grytten and Professor Jan Tore Klovland at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in Bergen, we have collected data on consumer prices in Norway back to 1516. For developments in gross domestic product, house prices, exchange rates, interest rates and monetary aggregates such as money and credit, we have aimed at producing data back to 1819 (Norges Bank was established in 1816). The principles and methods for constructing the data are documented in Norges Bank Occasional Papers No. 35 "Historical Monetary Statistics for Norway 1819-2003" edited by Øyvind Eitrheim, Jan T. Klovland and Jan F. Qvigstad. The book will be distributed on the basis of the mailing list of the bank's quarterly bulletin.
To stimulate further research and analysis, the data are available in spreadsheet format on the Internet. The website will be updated with information about revisions and extensions of the historical data.