An Economic History Of Modern Sweden

This book gives a comprehensive account of Swedish economic development from 1800 to the early years of the new millennium.

This book represents the first recent attempt to provide a comprehensive treatment of Sweden's economic development since the middle of the 18th century. It traces the rapid industrialisation, the political currents and the social ambitions, that transformed Sweden from a backward agrarian economy into what is now regarded by many as a model welfar

During the 1870 to 1970 period, Sweden experimented with a number of social policy measures, including far-reaching egalitarian policies and an extensive welfare system, yet they still enjoyed one of the most rapid growth rates in the world economy. These policy experiments in large part marked the beginnings of the academic field of economic history, nurtured most carefully by Eli F. Heckscher. This collection of reprinted articles by various authors reflects upon Sweden's economic maturity from a poor preindustrial nation to a wealthy European model economy. The development of Sweden's banking system plays prominently in the discussion, as does the importance of exports and transportion lines to this geographically small country with a long coastline. But perhaps the most attention goes to how the Swedish economy thrived while steadfastly emphasizing their public welfare system. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book explores the relationship between democracy and the economy in contemporary political thought and policy-making. Using the concepts of economic, industrial and enterprise democracy, the author focuses on the history of Finland and Sweden during the latter part of the twentieth century. The three concepts are discussed in relation to various political groups, such as social democrats, conservatives and liberals, and the reforms that they were associated with, painting a picture of changing economic thought in the Nordic countries, and the West more generally. Arguing that the concept of democracy has evolved from representative parliamentary democracy towards ‘participation’ in civil society, this book demonstrates how the ideal of individual freedom and choice has surpassed collective decision-making. These shared characteristics between Finland, Sweden and other Western countries challenge the view that the Nordic countries have been exceptional in resisting neoliberalism. In fact, as this book shows, neoliberalism has been influential to the Nordics since the 1970s. Offering an innovative and conceptual perspective on European political history, this book will appeal to scholars interested in Nordic political history and modern European history more generally.

The second edition of a leading textbook on European economic history, updated throughout and with new coverage of post-financial crisis Europe.