
Jonas Ljungberg
Professor emeritus

Domestic market and international integration: paths to industrialisation in the Nordic countries
Författare
Summary, in English
This article scrutinizes the role of structural change and foreign trade in the Nordic countries, except Iceland, in industrialization prior to 1914. Sector contribution to GDP as well as the role of the foreign trade is compared across the countries. The comparison uncovers different paths to industrialization that cannot be explained by reference to received views, such as the shock of free trade or open economy forces. Denmark was not only richer than the rest of the “Nordic Periphery” but also earlier in industrialization. Furthermore, agriculture had a much neglected role in Swedish catch-up, and despite its relatively large export sector, Norway lagged behind, as did Finland. Economic growth was characterized not only by rising exports but also by capital imports and increasing consumption, indicating wider economic and social change. Different sector structures in the Nordic countries largely explain why there was no clear pattern of catch-up or convergence, neither in the region nor in relation to the Western European leaders. We conclude that the social capability of the Nordic countries to integrate and respond to external influences 1850-1914 must be seen in the perspective of the evolving domestic markets and the prior establishment of market institutions.
Avdelning/ar
- Ekonomisk-historiska institutionen
Publiceringsår
2013
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
101-121
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Scandinavian Economic History Review
Volym
61
Issue
2
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
Routledge
Ämne
- Economic History
Nyckelord
- Convergence
- industrialization
- structural change
- foreign trade
Aktiv
Published
Projekt
- Swedish Regional Economic Growth in a European Perspective
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 0358-5522