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.
Tvärsnittskalkyler används ofta för att bedöma invandringens effekter på offentliga finanser, tex i en av bilagorna till finansdepartementets långtidsutredning. Att tolka statiska omfördelningseffekter mellan infödda och utrikesfödda svenskar som faktiska offentliga kostnader eller intäkter för invandring är dock problematiskt. Internationella longitudinella studier har pekat på en rad effekter som talar emot att tolka tvärsnittskalkyler annat än i finansiella flöden i offentlig sektor. Vi menar att metoden behöver utvecklas för att kunna tolka invandringens faktiska kostnader och intäkter