Using data for the period from 1855 to 1947 and the two sub-periods, 1855-1902 and 1903-47, the article examines whether the organic growth rates of 38 Swedish life insurance firms are independent of size, as predicted by Gibrat's (1931) Law of Proportionate Effects. Using panel unit root tests...

Drawing a framework from agency theory, we use a panel data design to examine the factors motivating the level of demand for reinsurance in the rapidly developing Swedish property fire insurance market during the interwar period 1919-39. We find that as hypothesised, reinsurance enabled Swedish...