Showing papers by "Magnus Henrekson published in 2003"

The Swedish Model of Corporate Ownership and Control in Transition

Abstract: We analyze the development of the Swedish ownership model after WWII. The controlling ownership in Swedish firms is typically concentrated to one or two owners. Often, but not always, the controlling owners are Swedish families. Thus, the model resembles the typical corporate control model of Continental Europe. A distinguishing feature of the Swedish model is, however, that control is typically based on a smaller capital base than in other European countries. This feature is a result of a seemingly paradoxical policy when it comes to private ownership. Tax policy has consistently disfavored the accumulation of private wealth, but at the same time corporate law has greatly facilitated the wielding of control based on a small equity base. Our analysis shows that the large gap between ownership and control makes the Swedish corporate control model both politically and economically unstable. The major political threat to date has been the proposal of the Swedish TUC and the Social Democratic Party to introduce a scheme that would result in the gradual takeover of the Swedish corporate sector by union-controlled wage-earner funds. After the political defeat of this proposal economic policy was changed in a more market liberal direction. This policy change has uncovered the economic instability of the model. The weak financial base of the controlling owners makes it difficult for them to take an active part in the current international restructuring of the corporate sector. Two forces are now seen as the major threat to the Swedish ownership model: A rapidly increasing foreign takeover of Swedish firms and the large state and corporatist pension funds. Their financial assets are far larger than those of today’s dominant control owners and extensive mandatory and/or tax-favored systems for pensions saving ascertains that their relative financial strength will continue to grow sharply.

The Transformation of Ownership Policy and Structure in Sweden: Convergence towards the Anglo-Saxon Model?

Abstract: We investigate the dramatic transformation of ownership policies and ownership structure in Sweden during the postwar period. After WWII, Swedish ownership policies were guided by a socialist vision where the ultimate goal was abolition of private ownership. These policies came to an end in the early 1980s. Since then a large number of Swedish firms have been acquired by foreign owners or merged with foreign firms and the foreign ownership share on the Swedish Stock Exchange has increased rapidly. A central question is whether this fast transformation is merely a logical consequence of current globalization, or whether this tendency has been reinforced by economic policies vis-a-vis the business sector in Sweden. We show that until the late 1980s, Swedish economic policy – aimed at discouraging wealth accumulation among households and favoring institutional ownership and debt financing – effectively precipitated the rapid takeover of the Swedish business sector by foreign owners that gained momentum in the 1990s. Policy measures intended to create a system of “capitalism without capitalists” can be said to have “packaged” large Swedish corporations in terms of ownership and financing structure, so that foreign takeover was facilitated. The article ends with a discussion as to whether the dramatic change in ownership structure in the Swedish business sector may result in the demise of the old corporatist model of industrial relations, giving way to a new trend towards a liberal market economy of the current Anglo-Saxon variety. JEL Classification: M13, N24, O38, P16.

A critique of Staffan Jacobsson's paper “Universities and industrial transformation”

Abstract: N A RECENT ARTICLE, Staffan Jacobsson (2002) presents his views on the level of knowledge as it applies to universities, and their role in innovation and in industrial development, with particular emphasis on Sweden. He discusses the possibilities for increasing the social benefits from resources invested in the university sector through various policy measures. The report covers a vast area in a selective manner, and it is beyond the scope of this brief note to give a comprehensive review of the paper. We limit our commentary to critical aspects relating to the current discussion on innovation policies in Sweden, which we believe to be generally important for the main thrust of his paper. We particularly focus attention on the following two central assertions in Jacobsson’s paper:

William J. Baumol: An Entrepreneurial Economist on the Economics of Entrepreneurship

Abstract: William J. Baumol is the 2003 winner of the International Award for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research. Throughout his career Baumol has urged the profession to pay attention to the instrumental role of entrepreneurship in economic renewal and growth. At the same time he has insisted that economists continue to use their usual tool box when the purview of analysis is extended to entrepreneurship. Hence, Baumol can be characterized as a revolutionary from within. In this article we present and discuss Baumol’s research contribution in the areas of entrepreneurship and small business economics, notably from a growth perspective. In addition to placing his work in these areas into the wider context of his full contribution, we emphasize Baumol’s findings that growth cannot be explained by the accumulation of various factors of production per se; human creativity and productive entrepreneurship are needed to combine the inputs in profitable ways. As a result, an institutional environment that encourages productive entrepreneurship and human experimentation becomes the ultimate determinant of economic growth.

The Swedish Model of Corporate Ownership and Control in Transition

Abstract: We analyze the development of the Swedish ownership model after World War II. The controlling ownership in Swedish firms is typically concentrated to one or two owners. Often, but not always, the controlling owners are Swedish families. Thus, the model resembles the typical corporate control model of Continental Europe. A distinguishing feature of the Swedish model is that control is typically based on a smaller capital base than in other European countries. This feature is a result of a seemingly paradoxical policy concerning private ownership. Tax policy has consistently disfavored the accumulation of private wealth, but at the same time corporate law has greatly facilitated the wielding of control based on a small equity base. Our analysis shows that the large gap between ownership and control makes the Swedish corporate control model both politically and economically unstable. The major political threat to date has been the proposal of the Swedish Trade Union Congress (the LO) and the Social Democratic Party to introduce a scheme that would result in the gradual takeover of the Swedish corporate sector by union-controlled wage-earner funds. After the political defeat of this proposal in the 1980’s economic policy was changed in a more market liberal direction. This policy change has uncovered the economic instability of the model. The weak financial base of the controlling owners makes it difficult for them to take an active part in the current international restructuring of the corporate sector. Two forces are now seen as the major threat to the Swedish ownership model: (a) a rapidly increasing foreign takeover of Swedish firms and (b) large state and corporatist pension funds. Their financial assets are far larger than those of today’s dominant control owners and extensive mandatory and/or tax-favored systems for pensions saving ascertain that their relative financial strength will continue to grow sharply in the future.