Dissertation Summary: 'On the Move: Essays on the Economic and Political Development of Sweden'

The transformation of Sweden, from an agricultural society in the mid nineteenth century to one of the world’s richest nations at the start of WWI, was remarkable. Beyond the well-documented increase in real wages, Sweden established itself as an entrepreneurial welfare state. In fact, concurrent to the rapid economic upswing, it underwent a period of substantial political change. One of the aims of my dissertation is to shed light on the possible causes behind this striking transformation and, thus, improve on the understanding of why Sweden became Sweden of today—in terms of both its economic and political development.