Reglerad sprängkraft : dynamiten, staten och den svenska civila sprängmedelsindustrin 1858-1950

The development of new innovations in explosives was an important part of the industrialization process from the mid-nineteenth century. The establishment of the world´s first nitroglycerin factory – Nitroglycerin Aktiebolaget (NA) in Stockholm in 1864 started a process replacing gunpowder with nitroglycerin and from 1868 by the safer invention dynamite. This affected both the long-term relationships between the mining industry and the powder mills and the demand from new industries for efficient and safe explosives. Even though the explosives industry was a small industry, it was of great importance for many other industries and for economic transformation. With dynamite and its successors, society also faced new risks. As a result, an extensive legislation was developed at an early stage which was supplemented with further supervision from a government authority in various organizations from 1895. The aim of the thesis is to investigate and analyze the major decision-making processes of the Swedish civilian explosives industry during the period 1858-1950. The purpose of the work is to contribute to gaining knowledge about how the society´s regulation of different industries has evolved and how state and private actors have acted in the development of new regulations. The work is structured around three main questions. The first question is about how the Swedish explosives industry developed during the period. How did the technological development of the industry and the explosives look like and had this any impact on the questions the actors within the industry drove? The second question is about how the dynamite industry was regulated. What did the regulations contain and how was the control organized? How did rights and obligations look like and how was the industry affected by this? The third question concerns the regulatory process itself. How and why did the regulations change and which actors were involved in the various changes? How did the Government and the actors act and can we see shifts over time between their different roles and interests? The study concludes that NA was the actor that, by using different methods, managed to gain the greatest influence over the regulatory process. Although the traditional established powder mill industry competed with NA at an early stage, it was nevertheless the initial, high-tech company that was involved in creating new national regulations in negotiation with the regulating authorities. This was a process of regulatory capture where NA, by combining both direct and indirect capture methods, managed to gain influence over regulations in the long run. A parallel but slightly different characteristic of this regulatory capture process is risk minimization for the public. Despite the occurrence of regulatory capture the regulations developed in a kind of a co-regulation system where the regulators became dependent on NA to provide the technical and practical expertise needed to build the necessary regulatory framework

Dynamite Regulations : The Explosives Industry, Regulatory Capture and the Swedish Government 1858-1948

In this article, we argue that the regulation of the explosives industry in Sweden between 1858 and 1948 can give a slightly different perspective on regulatory capture. In this case it was the upstart company, the Nobel Dynamite Company, and not the established explosives companies that in negotiation with the regulator succeeded in establishing new national regulations. Through three different cases we show that the method behind this successful capture was indirect and direct with a common trait of risk minimizing for the public that developed in cooperation with the regulator

Energiomställning och teknisk omvandling i svensk massa- och pappersindustri 1970-1990

This research report examines the driving forces and strategies in the Swedish pulp and paper industry to phase-out of oil and accomplishing energy savings in the 1970s - and '80s. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of development and contribute to a further understanding of the knowledge building that took shape in the Swedish pulp and paper industry on the energy area in the awake of the oil crises. During the investigated period, the use of fossil fuels dropped with more than 70 per cent, and this was mainly achieved by substituting oil by internal biofuels. This transition started as response to the first oil crisis in 1973, but was further reinforced by the energy policy, which expanded from the mid 1970s and onwards. The replacement of oil was achieved trough short-term measures to improve the energy efficiency and to increase the use of biofuels, while the use of external electricity played a minor role. It was soon recognized that also long-term investments in R&D was needed. Collaborations between companies through trade associations and committees came to be a characteristic strategy employed by the industry to advance knowledge and new technology on the energy area. This report demonstrates the central role that the changing prices of oil had on the pulp and paper industry to explore the possibilities of a more efficient use of internal biofuels, which previously not had been utilised. In this sense, the oil crisis forced the industry sector into a more sustainable path. It also demonstrates the central role that the government played, and can play, to support and enhance the development of new technological development paths. As for the oil crises, a big part of the energy policy objectives i.e. to phase out oil from the Swedish energy system, coincided with the industry’s needs to lower the costs and risks from being dependent on oil.Godkänd; 2014; 20140704 (krisod

Den förutseende staten? : Småföretagskrediter och den ekonomiska politiken 1940-1965

Denna rapport redovisar forskningsresultat från projektet Att satsa på framtiden? Den statliga kreditpolitiken och småföretagen 1933–1970 som finansierats av Handelsbankens Forskningsstiftelser under perioden 2017–2020 genom anslag P17- 0108. I rapporten redovisas empiriska-analytiska resultat från ett omfattande källmaterial som excerperats från Kommerskollegiums arkiv som finns deponerat i Riksarkivets filial i Marieberg. Fokus ligger främst på att redovisa resultat från en undersökning av alla statliga lånegarantier under perioden 1954–1965. Rapporten innehåller även ett avsnitt baserat på en urvalsundersökning av lån från Statens hantverkslånefond under perioden 1954–1956. Dessa resultat har även analyserats och diskuterats i relation till övriga forskningsresultat inom projektet. Med förbehållet att alla publikationer måste studeras för att överblicka projektets resultat på detaljnivå, utgör denna rapport därmed en sammanfattning av ovanstående forskningsprojekt

Den förutseende staten? : Småföretagskrediter och den ekonomiska politiken 1940-1965

Denna rapport redovisar forskningsresultat från projektet Att satsa på framtiden? Den statliga kreditpolitiken och småföretagen 1933–1970 som finansierats av Handelsbankens Forskningsstiftelser under perioden 2017–2020 genom anslag P17- 0108. I rapporten redovisas empiriska-analytiska resultat från ett omfattande källmaterial som excerperats från Kommerskollegiums arkiv som finns deponerat i Riksarkivets filial i Marieberg. Fokus ligger främst på att redovisa resultat från en undersökning av alla statliga lånegarantier under perioden 1954–1965. Rapporten innehåller även ett avsnitt baserat på en urvalsundersökning av lån från Statens hantverkslånefond under perioden 1954–1956. Dessa resultat har även analyserats och diskuterats i relation till övriga forskningsresultat inom projektet. Med förbehållet att alla publikationer måste studeras för att överblicka projektets resultat på detaljnivå, utgör denna rapport därmed en sammanfattning av ovanstående forskningsprojekt

National institutions, regional outcomes : The political economy of post-war Swedish regional policy

One debate within the varieties of capitalism approach deals with the significance of institutions below the national level. On the basis of a case study of the loan guarantee system, this article deals with the interaction between institutions and regional actors in Sweden during the formation of post-war regional development policy. We conclude that regional economic problems have been addressed through adaptation of national institutions. From an actor perspective, these results correspond with the revised VoC framework which emphasises that state institutions provide both a framework for business activities and a means for pursuing them