Circulation of economic information, insurance companies and the formation of institutions in Brazil

Abstract

This article seeks to present the importance of the circulation of economic information for the operation of insurance companies in Brazil at the turn of the twentieth century. Without the help of data systematization or a technical arsenal sophisticated enough to price the risks of their policies, these firms used the public space of the press to disseminate economic information about their operations, as well as to acquire information about the situation of competitors. The publication of economic data in newspapers therefore became a tool for the performance of these companies, a tool they used in order to consolidate themselves as institutions.