SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance
No 412:
Swedish Economic Growth and Scholarly Objectivity: An objective sociologist vs. subjective economists, or the other way around?
Magnus Henrekson ()
Abstract: Walter Korpi argues in a previous issue of Challenge
(March/April 2000) that Swedish economists’ claim that Sweden’s growth
performance has been inferior to that of other industrialized countries is
at odds with the facts. Since Sweden has not grown slowly relative to other
countries, there is no basis for the claim that ”the Swedish model”,
characterized by a large public sector and comprehensive redistributive
policies, could be growth impeding. Moreover, Korpi maintains that the
discussion reveals a lack of objectivity among Swedish academic economists.
In this article Magnus Henrekson argues that Korpi is wrong regarding
Sweden’s relative growth performance. Available data indicate that Sweden
was lagging behind during the 1970s and 80s, and this tendency is further
strengthened when the time period is extended. Then it is clear that the
lagging behind began in the mid 1960s and continued through the mid 1990s.
As a corollary, examining the factors behind Sweden’s slow growth must be
considered an important research issue. Finally, Henrekson maintains that
the available evidence, if anything, demonstrates that Walter Korpi is the
one who has been lacking in scholarly objectivity.
Keywords: Catching up; Economic growth; Swedish economic performance; Scholarly objectivity; Swedish Model.; (follow links to similar papers)
JEL-Codes: O10; O47; O50; (follow links to similar papers)
16 pages, November 16, 2000
Published in Challenge July/Aug. 2001. Title: "Swedish Economic Growth. A Favorable View of Reform".
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Henrekson, Magnus, (2001), 'Swedish Economic Growth. A Favorable View of Reform', Challenge, Vol. 44, July/August, No. 4, pages 38-58
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