Showing papers in "Scandinavian Economic History Review in 2012"

Aggregate and per capita GDP in Europe, 1870–2000: continental, regional and national data with changing boundaries

Abstract: This article presents estimates of aggregate and per capita GDP in constant prices for Europe over the period 1870–2000. Following the approach of Bairoch, we present figures for the continent as a whole and for individual countries on the basis of changing boundaries. This is complementary to the Maddison data-set, where country data are presented on the basis of constant boundaries. Data on the basis of the boundaries of the time are more convenient for comparative historical analysis, and can be combined more easily with data from contemporary sources, such as official statistical collections. Regional totals are also provided.

The future of economic, business, and social history

Abstract: Introduction (by the editors of SEHR, Alfred Reckendrees and Jacob Weisdorf) On 25 May 2012, the Scandinavian Society of Economic and Social History celebrated the 60th anniversary of its internati...

Regional inequality in human capital formation in Europe, 1790–1880

Abstract: Recent theoretical advances reveal the importance of human capital for long-run economic growth. However, the absence of data makes it difficult to measure human capital before 1870 at the national level, let alone at the regional level within countries. By using the age heaping method and a large, new data set, we approximate the numeracy values in more than 570 regions in Europe between 1790 and 1880. The results indicate a significant gap in numeracy levels between advanced west and central European countries and the rest of Europe. Nevertheless, differences in basic numeracy between and within countries became smaller over the nineteenth century, as the periphery solved its basic numeracy problem.

Trade and poverty: When the third world fell behind

Abstract: Jeffrey G. Williamson, Trade and poverty: When the third world fell behind, Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 2011, xii+301 pp., U$35 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0-262-01515-8. The global trade boom that lasted ...

The agrarian history of Sweden: From 4000 BC to AD 2000

Abstract: from raising tariffs, at least on the macro level. Although Irwin’s main message, that the role and impact of the Smoot-Hawley tariff has been exaggerated, will not surprise any fairly well-read economic historian, this book is a welcome contribution to the field. Several of the old ‘wisdoms’ regarding the tariff are presented and analysed, and the empirical evidence brought forth by Irwin is convincing. The course of events is concisely presented in a chronological manner. Irwin has collected quite a number of political cartoons, caricatures and quotations to illustrate the debate of contemporaries and scholars that both entertain and point to the gravity of the issue. All this adds nicely to the economic analyses. The lines of arguments and the analyses of the author in the book are convincing and accessible to both scholars and the general reader.

Firm collaboration and environmental adaptation. The case of the Swedish pulp and paper industry 1900–1990

Abstract: This article addresses the importance of research and development (R&D) collaboration for environmental adaptation in the Swedish pulp and paper industry. It reviews the collaborative efforts i ...

Geographical Location and Urbanization of the Swedish Manufacturing Industry, 1900-1960: Evidence from a New Database

Abstract: This article introduces a new database, based on official statistics, of regional manufacturing industries in Sweden. We employ this database to examine the distribution of manufacturing activity across Swedish regions and cities, 1900–1960. Over this period we observe an increasing concentration of manufacturing activities, reaching a peak around 1940, across the northern, southern and western parts (NUTS-I areas) of Sweden. Over the same period, the North-South divide in terms of manufacturing employment grew larger. Across counties (NUTS-III) and cities we, however, observe two shorter periods of convergence of manufacturing activities, in the early twentieth century and in the post-war period, whereas the inter-war period was characterised by divergence. These developments occurred to the backdrop of the urbanisation of industry in Sweden, as the rural share of manufacturing employment declined from roughly 60 to 25% between 1900 and 1960. We also find that the regional patterns of individual industries over time followed different trajectories, suggesting that that the determinants of industry location differed significantly across industries.

Easy prey? Firms based in small nations and international cartels, 1919–1939

Abstract: It is taken as common sense that small countries have been more pressed and exploited by transnational enterprises than large ones. Economists call this the ‘small-country-squeeze’. Our contribution tries to transfer the thesis to the micro-economic level: Did mighty international cartels exploit their cartel partners based in small countries more easily than enterprises from larger states? From a viewpoint of political logic, or everyday feeling, such a thesis looks straightforward. In the following we apply the thesis of small-country-squeeze to several cases of cartels during their peak period, 1919–1939, and find surprisingly little evidence for this ‘common sense’. The assumption rather needs to be reversed: We should take non-discrimination as the normal case and try to find contradicting cases of discrimination.

Wage forms, costs of living and the urban–rural wage gap: Southern Sweden, 1881–1930

Abstract: One common finding of studies of industrialising economies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is the existence of an urban–rural nominal wage gap. For the analysis of its causes and context it is however essential to know the extent to which the gap is due to urban–rural differences in payments in kind, cost of living and consumption patterns. Only a few studies have tried to estimate the real urban–rural wage gap though. This paper belongs to this stream of literature, aiming to develop a method for the estimation of the real wage gap given the kind of data available in the Swedish context, and to use it to estimate the real wage gap for Malmo County in 1881–1930. The main result is that the gap is reduced to about one-half of its nominal size when differences in payments in kind, cost of living and consumption patterns are accounted for. The real wage gap was still substantial though, and the trend was increasing. While urban real wages were ranging from 10% less to 40% more than agraria...

Land and inequality in Canada 1870–1930

Abstract: The great world economic and globalisation boom of the pre-First World War era was accompanied by great inequality in the distribution of income and wealth particularly during industrialisation, with the new world European settler economies being no exception. Canadian wealth inequality over the period 1870–1930 was also substantial and is examined using probated estates from the Eastern Judicial District of the province of Manitoba and Wentworth County, Ontario. However, wealth inequality is found to be less pronounced in frontier Manitoba relative to Ontario with higher and more dispersed rates of land ownership in the West as well as lower wealth levels and greater farm employment, as the key factors in this difference. This suggests that the farm economy of pre-First World War Canada was associated with greater equality of wealth. One of the inevitable effects of Canadian industrialisation and economic development was a rise in wealth inequality but the process of western settlement and assoc...

Iceland's economic eruption and meltdown

Abstract: The Icelandic financial collapse, which occurred in the fall of 2008, is without precedent. Never before in modern history has an entire financial system of a developed country collapsed so dramatically. This paper describes the country's path towards financial liberalisation and the economic background that lead to an initially flourishing banking sector. In doing so, the paper elaborates on the economic oversights that were made during the financial build-up of the country and how such mistakes contributed to the crash. The focus is thus on identifying the main factors that contributed to the financial collapse and on drawing conclusions about how these missteps could have been avoided. Also summarised are the mistakes that followed in the attempted rescue phase after the disaster had struck. The paper discusses these issues from a general perspective to provide an overview of the pitfalls that any fast growing market may be exposed to. It concludes that the economic collapse was primarily home-brewed a...

Business cycles and shocks to financial stability: empirical evidence from a new set of Danish quarterly national accounts 1948–2010

Abstract: In Denmark, consistent time series of quarterly national accounts are only available for the period since 1971. Based on a range of quarterly business cycle indicators, this article constructs a set of non-seasonally adjusted quarterly national accounts for Denmark 1948–1971 using the ‘Proportional Denton Least Square Method’. This compilation method is recommended in the International Monetary Fund's manual on quarterly national accounts as the preferred method to compile quarterly national accounts data consistent with an existing set of annual national accounts. Furthermore, the article reviews some of the empirical evidence on the business cycle and the linkages between the financial sector and the real economy in the Danish post-war period that can be uncovered from the new data-set.

Did Swedish ball bearings keep the Second World War going? Re-evaluating neutral Sweden's role

Abstract: This paper examines the Swedish ball bearings industry during the Second World War, including subsidiary operations in Germany and the United Kingdom. It determines that these ball bearings were very important to the war effort in both countries, comprising in total about 58% of German supplies and 31% of British. Despite favouring Germany with more exports, the Swedish government allowed the British access to Swedish territory to ensure the delivery of the bearings through the German blockade. In relation to price increases for other exports, prices for ball bearings were time-dependent on the position of the acquiring country. From an overall perspective, the United Kingdom received a discount which Germany did not share. However, with the exception of direct exports, representing respectively about 10% and 15% of total German and British supplies, it would have been difficult for the Swedish industry to successfully withhold all supplies of ball bearings to either belligerent. Ultimately, any ...

The early regional development of human capital in Europe, 1790 - 1880

Abstract: Recent theoretical advances underline the importance of human capital for long-run economic growth. However, lack of data makes it difficult to measure human capital before 1870 on the national level, let alone the regional level within countries. By using the age heaping method and a new large dataset, we approximate numeracy values in more than 500 regions in Europe between 1790 and 1880. Results indicate a significant gap in numeracy levels between advanced West and Central European countries and the rest of Europe. Nonetheless, differences in numeracy between and within countries converged over the century since the periphery caught up to the core European countries. 1 University of Tuebingen and University of Strasbourg, ralph.hippe@uni-tuebingen.de 2 University of Tuebingen and CESifo, joerg.baten@uni-tuebingen.de

Three Generations in the New World. Labor Market Outcomes of Swedish Americans in the United States, 1880-2000

Abstract: Roughly one million Swedes emigrated to the USA between 1870 and 1920. These emigrants gave rise to over four million individuals with a Swedish ancestry currently living in the USA. This study sho ...

Review of Peter Fibiger Bang "The Roman bazaar. A comparative study of trade and markets in a tributary empire

Abstract: Peter Fibiger Bang, The Roman bazaar. A comparative study of trade and markets in a tributary empire, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2008, XV+358 pp., ISBN 978-0-521-85532-7. In 1973, Moses...

The invisible hook. The hidden economics of pirates

Abstract: Peter Leeson, The invisible hook. The hidden economics of pirates, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2009, 271 pp. ISBN 978-0-691-13747-6 (Hardcover) Most of us have read the story of Peter Pa...

Stalins arkiv. Sökandet efter det Nya Ryssland

Abstract: Jonathan Brent, Stalins arkiv. Sokandet efter det Nya Ryssland (Inside the Stalin archives: Discovering the new Russia, New York, Atlas & Co, 2008), translation by Margareta Eklof, Stockholm, Ekerl...