Lund Papers in Economic History,
Lund University, Department of Economic History

Abstract: We examine trends in innovation output for two highly ranked innovative countries: Finland and Sweden (1970-2013). Our novel dataset, collected using the LBIO (literature-based innovation output) method, suggests that the innovation trends are positive for both countries, despite an extended downturn in the 1980s. The findings cast some doubt on the proposition that the current stagnation of many developed countries is due to a lack of innovation and investment opportunities. Our data show that Finland catches up to, and passes, Sweden in innovation output in the 1990s. In per capita terms, Finland stays ahead throughout the period. We find that the strong Finnish performance is largely driven by innovation increase in just a handfull of industries. Both countries saw a rise in innovation during the dot-com era and the structural changes that followed. Since 2000 however, Sweden has outperformed Finland in terms of total innovations, especially in machinery and ICT, while the Finnish rate of innovation has stabilized. We suggest that these patterns may be explained by different paths of industrial renewal.

Keywords: innovation; literature-based innovation output; industrial renewal; structural decomposition; structural change

JEL-codes: N14; O30; O47

38 pages, December 6, 2017

Full text files

10ffe6a6-6d08-44b7-b881-4cdc3450ed22  

Download statistics

• Lund University, Department of Economic History
• Home page for this series

Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Tobias Karlsson ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().

RePEc:hhs:luekhi:0167This page generated on 2024-09-13 22:16:07.