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In Sweden, Anti-Globalizationists Dominate Public Discourse, Econ Profs Do Little

Abstract

In recent years, globalization and its consequences have become hotly debated issues. In Europe, non-governmental organizations like Attac have argued that free trade and free capital movements favor large corporations and rich countries, while poor countries are treated unfairly. These ideas have gained wide-spread attention in the media. But globalization is also a large research area in economics, so there is a golden opportunity for economists to disseminate their knowledge to the interested public. In this article, we investigate to what extent Swedish professors, with publications in the relevant fields of research, actually take part in the public discourse on globalization. We find that the professors are virtually absent in the debate and we discuss possible causes and consequences of this inactivity.

Skedinger, P. & Johansson, D. (2004). ”In Sweden, Anti-Globalizationists Dominate Public Discourse, Econ Profs Do Little.”Econ Journal Watch, 1(1): 175-184.

In Sweden, Anti-Globalizationists Dominate Public Discourse, Econ Profs Do Little - Ratio

Details

Author: Skedinger, P. & Johansson, D.
Publication year: 2004
Published in: Econ Journal Watch

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Article (with peer review)

Conditions for doing business in rural areas: Survey evidence from in-movers and stayers

Aldén, L., Hammarstedt, M., & Skedinger, P.

Publication year

2026

Published in

Journal of Rural Studies, 122,

Abstract

This paper examines business conditions in rural Sweden, with a focus on differences between entrepreneurs who grew up in rural areas (“stayers”) and those who moved there as adults (“in-movers”). The analysis combines a large-scale survey with administrative register data for business owners aged 25–55 running firms with up to ten employees. Results show that entrepreneurs in rural municipalities place greater weight on both enabling and constraining factors than entrepreneurs in non-rural areas, consistent with a thinner institutional environment. Within rural areas, stayers emphasize locally embedded conditions such as municipal responsiveness and access to local services, while in-movers highlight transport and communication infrastructure and show stronger orientation toward external markets. Regression analyses indicate that these differences are largely explained by group composition: in-movers are, on average, more highly educated, more often women, and more concentrated in skill-intensive service sectors, whereas stayers are more concentrated in agriculture and other place-dependent industries. The findings suggest that policy should combine stronger local institutions and services with investments in transport and digital infrastructure to support diverse forms of rural entrepreneurship.

Article (with peer review)

The openness of open innovation in ecosystems

Öberg, C., & Alexander, A.

Publication year

2019

Published in

Journal of Innovation & Knowledge

Abstract

Open innovation has rendered increased interest both in practice and research, and has expanded from dyadic transfers of ideas, to ecosystem levels. Knowledge is at the heart of open innovation, and this paper describes and discusses knowledge-transfer linkages for open innovation. It does so based on a literature review. The paper links together open innovation research with general management research to categorise and discuss linkages among parties in terms of their openness and how they relate to knowledge management. Conclusions indicate that openness needs to be considered in different dimensions that also links to different knowledge management outcomes. The paper’s contribution consists of how it connects open innovation research to the general management literature, and how it builds a practical understanding of how linkages between firms can be categorised to aid firms to consider which mechanisms they may choose and why.

Article (with peer review)

A revised perspective on innovation policy for renewal of mature economies – Historical evidence from finance and telecommunications in Sweden 1980–1990

Eriksson, K., Ernkvist, M., Laurell, C., Moodysson, J., Nykvist, R. & Sandström, C.

Publication year

2019

Published in

Technological Forecasting and Social Change

Abstract

What is the role of innovation policy for accomplishing renewal of mature industries in Western economies? Drawing upon an unusually rich dataset spanning 9752 digitized archival documents, we categorize and code decisions taken by policymakers on several levels while also mapping and quantifying the strategic activities of both entrant firms and incumbent monopolists over a decade. Our data concerns two empirical cases from Sweden during the time period 1980–1990: the financial sector and the telecommunications sector. In both industries, a combination of technological and institutional upheaval came into motion during this time period which in turn fueled the revitalization of the Swedish economy in the subsequent decades. Our findings show that Swedish policymakers in both cases consistently acted in order to promote the emergence of more competition and de novo entrant firms at the expense of established monopolies. The paper quantifies and documents this process while also highlighting several enabling conditions. In conclusion, the results indicate that successful innovation policy in mature economies is largely a matter of strategically dealing with resourceful vested interest groups, alignment of expectations, and removing resistance to industrial renewal.