A short presentation of the German historical school will be given, emphasizing the issues that are relevant for the parallel development in Norway. Thus, it is not a complete analysis of the German historical school or the views of Schmoller, but rather a summary of the relevant topics for Aschehoug and the foundation and development of the Statsøkonomisk forening as a vehicle for the progression and discussion of economic thought.

The Norwegian economists followed the development of German economic theory closely. A small analysis of Statsøkonomisk Tidsskrift shows that the annual presentation of new literature, debates, journals and books contained almost everything that was published in Germany. Aschehoug quotes extensively from German authors, he comments on them and was clearly updated on German economic thought. But as the late Norwegian economist Amundsen says, ‘The political situation in Norway was closer to that in Britain than in the German states, and there was no substantial acceptance of the historical school among the Norwegian economists in the nineteenth century.’ This may be true when it came to the political situation, but it will be argued here that Amundsen errs in his comments about the influence of the German historical school theoretically. Why the Germans ended up emphasizing historical thought can be seen scientifically as a reaction towards what were perceived as the errors of the early classical school. In this respect the work of the school must be valued.