From Natural Resources to High-Tech Production: The Evolution of Industrial Competitiveness in Sweden and Finland

Magnus Blomstrom and Ari Kokko

No 139, EIJS Working Paper Series from Stockholm School of Economics, The European Institute of Japanese Studies

Abstract: This paper analyzes the evolution of industrial competitiveness in Sweden and Finland in a long-term perspective. The first part looks at the foundations for industrial take-off in Sweden, with some focus on the development of institutions for the creation and dissemination of the skills and knowledge needed in the emerging industrial sector. The second part examines the development of the Swedish forest industry until the early 1990s, with particular emphasis on the factors allowing the industry to remain competitive for more than one century. The third and final part discusses the emergence of Nokia and Ericsson as market leaders in the high-tech mobile telecommunications industry. Summarizing the conclusions, we stress the role of efficient institutional solutions for the acquisition and development of technology, as well as the importance of an outward oriented trade regime. The experiences discussed in the report also suggest that public policy should provide an appropriate institutional framework to facilitate the sustainable use of land, raw materials, and other resources and promote learning and internationalization.

Keywords: industrialization; technical change; internationalization; forest industries; telecommunications (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F13 L63 L73 O14 O30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 73 pages
Date: 2002-01-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-ent, nep-env, nep-res and nep-tid
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Published in Natural Resources: Neither Curse nor Destiny, Lederman, D. , Maloney, W.F. (eds.), 2007, pages 213-256, Stanford University Press and The World Bank, Washington, DC.

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Working Paper: From Natural Resources to High-tech Production: The Evolution of Industrial Competitiveness in Sweden and Finland (2003)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:eijswp:0139

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