One and a Half Millennium of Economic Change in Sweden

Construction of historical national accounts has a long history in Sweden. It started in the interwar period and later a number of improvements and extensions backward and forward in time have been made. Thus, now there are series from 1300 onwards. Of course, due to limitations of the source material, the estimates are more and more uncertain the further back in time they refer to. In this paper GDP per capita for the entire period is analysed. Growth episodes and stagnation periods are identified and comparisons of income levels with other countries are made. It is found that Sweden was not distinctly backward at any time during the whole period. Economic changes before 1300 are also discussed on the basis of previous historical research. Hence, it is to a certain extent conjectures. There were long-term ups and downs in the economy also in this early period. Furthermore, it is questioned whether the old opinion of the area later called Sweden as very poor compared to the rest of northern Europe can be upheld. Scandinavia was for instance expansive internationally with trading and raiding in the Viking period. Could this have characterised a very poor region

En skattning av svensk BNP 1571

digitalisering@um

Small European Countries in Economic Internationalisation: An Economic Historical Perspective

This paper addresses small state theories and characteristics. In economic theories foreign trade is of great interest since small states are more dependent than large ones on this trade. A special approach, formulated by Katzenstein, is shown to be time-bound. In the period from the 1930s to the 1980s small states’ adaptation to the outside world to a great extent took the shape that Katzenstein discussed which among other things meant democratic corporatism. This conclusion is arrived at when a long-time perspective is applied. Small state characteristics are mostly of interest from the 19th century. Up to World War I inter-nationalisation was growing but after that it did not increase until the 1970s when a new internationalisation wave came. Especially in the second wave, which could also be called the globalisation wave, thoroughgoing adaptations of the small states were conspicuous and international organisations became essential

En skattning av svensk BNP 1571

digitalisering@um

Small European Countries in Economic Internationalisation: An Economic Historical Perspective

This paper addresses small state theories and characteristics. In economic theories foreign trade is of great interest since small states are more dependent than large ones on this trade. A special approach, formulated by Katzenstein, is shown to be time-bound. In the period from the 1930s to the 1980s small states’ adaptation to the outside world to a great extent took the shape that Katzenstein discussed which among other things meant democratic corporatism. This conclusion is arrived at when a long-time perspective is applied. Small state characteristics are mostly of interest from the 19th century. Up to World War I inter-nationalisation was growing but after that it did not increase until the 1970s when a new internationalisation wave came. Especially in the second wave, which could also be called the globalisation wave, thoroughgoing adaptations of the small states were conspicuous and international organisations became essential

The Swedish economy in the early modern period: constructing historical national accounts

A new GDP series per capita for Sweden during 15601800 is presented, linked to slightly revised data for 18002000. Long-term stagnation up to the nineteenth century is revealed but with secular changes. Growth characterized much of the seventeenth century with modernization of state administration, industry and trade. In the next century, stagnation and even retrogression followed. Wars in the seventeenth century may have stimulated growth, but also exhausted resources. Despite stagnation, the structure of the economy shifted and created preconditions for the modern economic growth that took off in the nineteenth century

New Swedish Historical National Accounts since the 16th Century in Constant and Current Prices

This Working Paper presents and discusses Swedish Historical National Accounts back to 1560 in both current and constant prices. With current prices, this paper provides a major extension of our prior WP 123. It also presents some revisions and additions to earlier data. The main result from the earlier paper of a long secular cycle with troughs around 1600 and 1800 and a peak around 1700 still holds, but there are new aspects on long term development and structural changes from the analysis of both current and constant prices. Thus, the position of agriculture in the late 17th century looks even bleaker in current than in constant prices. The link to the data set is http://www.ekh.lu.se/en/research/economic-history- data/shna1560-2010