An historical wealth assessment – measuring the Swedish national wealth for the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
2016 (English)In: Scandinavian Economic History Review, ISSN 0358-5522, E-ISSN 1750-2837, Vol. 64, no 2, p. 122-137Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
This article provides historical account of wealth accumulation and composition in Sweden during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A detailed account on capital formation during the industrialisation process shows that produced capital grew faster than natural capital from the 1850s. Natural capital was changing from a predominance of forest towards crop land as the main asset in the early twentieth century. Produced capital was largely bounded in the agriculture sector up till the second half of the nineteenth century. Heavy investments in the infrastructure sector and later in the manufacturing section changed the produced capital structure and thereby lowered transport costs and return of investment in manufacturing and services; providing incentives for accumulating the stock of produced capital and enhance consumption and living standard. The return on capital was dispersed from the outset of the period but has converged over time.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Taylor & Francis Group , 2016. Vol. 64, no 2, p. 122-137
Keywords [en]
Capital stock, national wealth, historical national accounts, Sweden, Structural change
National Category
Economic History
Research subject
Economic History
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-139229DOI: 10.1080/03585522.2016.1180319ISI: 000384603400004Local ID: 881253 ; 881251OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-139229DiVA, id: diva2:8696
2016-06-022019-01-252019-02-01