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Sweden’s Relative Growth 1850-2020. A Drama in Three Acts

Jonung, Lars LU (2026) In Working Papers
Abstract
Sweden’s economic growth in relation to developments in the rest of the world exhibits three distinct phases over the past 170 years. From 1890 to 1950, Sweden experienced faster growth than comparable countries. This period of liberalization was followed by a phase of lagging behind until around the turn of the millennium. This relative stagnation is closely associated with the financial repression implemented by the social democratic governments in the post-World War II period. Strong anti-competitive regulations of the financial system, including the political determination of interest rates and allocation of capital, were likely the main cause of the Swedish lagging behind. After financial deregulation, a third phase begins, marked by... (More)
Sweden’s economic growth in relation to developments in the rest of the world exhibits three distinct phases over the past 170 years. From 1890 to 1950, Sweden experienced faster growth than comparable countries. This period of liberalization was followed by a phase of lagging behind until around the turn of the millennium. This relative stagnation is closely associated with the financial repression implemented by the social democratic governments in the post-World War II period. Strong anti-competitive regulations of the financial system, including the political determination of interest rates and allocation of capital, were likely the main cause of the Swedish lagging behind. After financial deregulation, a third phase begins, marked by a weak relative recovery. In line with current research, the three phases of Sweden’s relative growth are explained by the degree of liberalization of the Swedish economy, in other words, by the level of economic freedom. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Working paper/Preprint
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Economic growth, liberalization, neoliberalism, financial repression, financial deregulation, economic freedom, social democracy, Sweden, E44, G18, N14, O47, O52
in
Working Papers
issue
2026:1
pages
32 pages
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b6a8a672-9c12-4e46-ad98-0fcd621d675b
date added to LUP
2026-02-03 10:21:17
date last changed
2026-02-03 10:21:17
@misc{b6a8a672-9c12-4e46-ad98-0fcd621d675b,
  abstract     = {{Sweden’s economic growth in relation to developments in the rest of the world exhibits three distinct phases over the past 170 years. From 1890 to 1950, Sweden experienced faster growth than comparable countries. This period of liberalization was followed by a phase of lagging behind until around the turn of the millennium. This relative stagnation is closely associated with the financial repression implemented by the social democratic governments in the post-World War II period. Strong anti-competitive regulations of the financial system, including the political determination of interest rates and allocation of capital, were likely the main cause of the Swedish lagging behind. After financial deregulation, a third phase begins, marked by a weak relative recovery. In line with current research, the three phases of Sweden’s relative growth are explained by the degree of liberalization of the Swedish economy, in other words, by the level of economic freedom.}},
  author       = {{Jonung, Lars}},
  keywords     = {{Economic growth; liberalization; neoliberalism; financial repression; financial deregulation; economic freedom; social democracy; Sweden; E44; G18; N14; O47; O52}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  number       = {{2026:1}},
  series       = {{Working Papers}},
  title        = {{Sweden’s Relative Growth 1850-2020. A Drama in Three Acts}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/241252056/WP26_1.pdf}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}