Table Of ContentPALGRAVE STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT
Twelve Figures in
Swedish Economics
Mats Lundahl
Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic
Thought
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Mats Lundahl
Twelve Figures
in Swedish Economics
Eli Heckscher, Bertil Ohlin, Gunnar Myrdal, Ingvar
Svennilson, Axel Iveroth, Jan Wallander, Erik
Höök, Bo Södersten, Rolf Henriksson, Ingemar
Ståhl, Villy Bergström and Göte Hansson
Mats Lundahl
Stockholm School of Economics
Stockholm, Sweden
ISSN 2662-6578 ISSN 2662-6586 (electronic)
Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought
ISBN 978-3-030-94326-4 ISBN 978-3-030-94327-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94327-1
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Preface
In 2015, I published a book of essays called Seven Figures in the History
of Swedish Economic Thought (Palgrave Macmillan). The seven figures
were Knut Wicksell, Eli Heckscher, Bertil Ohlin, Torsten Gårdlund,
Sven Rydenfelt, Staffan Burenstam Linder and Jaime Behar. The present
volumeisasequeltothatbook.ItdealswithEliHeckscher,BertilOhlin,
Gunnar Myrdal, Ingvar Svennilson, Axel Iveroth, Jan Wallander, Erik
Höök, Bo Södersten, Rolf Henriksson, Ingemar Ståhl, Villy Bergström
and Göte Hansson.
AswasthecasealsowithSevenFigures,thechaptersallhavetheirown
histories. They have not been written with the book in mind but have
been prepared for a variety of occasions. Most of the essays, however,
have one thing in common. They present aspects that are not commonly
known, especially not to an international audience. Most of the books
andarticlesdealtwithwerewritteninSwedishandwerenevertranslated.
In some instances, the chapters are also based on private letters which
were subsequently buried in archives. Putting the essays together offers a
selective longitudinal section of Swedish economics during the twentieth
century. Several of the pieces deal with what in the Down Beat annual
jazz polls used to be called ‘Talent Deserving Wider Recognition.’
The only part of the book which is vaguely systematic consists of the
essaysdevotedtoeconomicswhoatsomepointintheirlifehadarelation
to the Industrial Institute for Economic and Social Research [Industriens
Utredningsinstitut—IUI]. Together with Benny Carlson I have been,
v
vi PREFACE
and still am, involved in the writing of the history of the institute—
todayknownastheResearchInstituteofIndustrialEconomics[Institutet
för Näringslivsforskning—IFN]. These essays have been written together
with Benny and their Swedish versions have been collected in our book
Från Värmland till Washington (Samhällsförlaget, Stockholm, 2020).
As always, when preparing a book, I have put a heavy strain on the
librarians of the Stockholm School of Economics, notably Peter Gavelin
and Ute Harris. They have born with me with equanimity, always deliv-
ered, and time after time demonstrated their ability to dig out the most
impossible items. My debt of gratitude to them keeps accumulating.
Thanks are also due to the Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation
and the Tore Browaldh Foundation for financial support.
Djursholm, Sweden Mats Lundahl
September 2021
Praise for TwelveFiguresinSwedish
Economics
“Following the lead of intellectual giants such as Knut Wicksell and Eli
Heckscher numerous well-trained Swedish economists became renowned
public intellectuals. By applying the economists’ toolbox on the most
pressing policy issues of the day, skilfully articulated in their native
language in a fashion accessible to non-economists, they also became
highly influential. In this collection of essays, Mats Lundahl offers an
eruditeexposéoftwelveSwedisheconomistswhoconceivedofeconomics
as a broad social science and ventured outside the ivory tower. By
presenting key parts of their work that is only available in Swedish, this
book not only fills some gaps in the picture of the history of Swedish
economics,italsoinspiresnewgenerationsofeconomiststocommunicate
their findings outside their narrow circle of specialists.”
—Magnus Henrekson, Professor of Economics and Senior Research Fellow
at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Stockholm
“Students all over the world ask for more diversity and rethinking
in economics. A good start is to learn more about the diversity and
thinking of economists in the past. In this book, we learn about twelve
Swedishscholars—abit about their lives and a lot about their economics.
Heckscher, Ohlin, and Myrdal are world famous—others are talents
deserving wider recognition. Mats Lundahl brings them all to life in an
excellent overview.”
—Karl Ove Moene, Professor of Economics, University of Oslo
vii
viii PRAISEFORTWELVEFIGURESINSWEDISHECONOMICS
“Mats Lundahl is a master of biographical essays and has published
severalbooksinEnglish,Swedish,FrenchandSpanishoneconomistsand
musicians. In Twelve Figures in Swedish Economics he returns with new
material on Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin, who were earlier presented
in Seven Figures in the History of Swedish Economic Thought (2015), and
also presents ten new economists: Gunnar Myrdal, Ingvar Svennilson,
Axel Iveroth, Jan Wallander, Erik Höök, Bo Södersten, Rolf Henriksson,
Ingemar Ståhl, Villy Bergström and Göte Hansson.
Lundahlhasmetmostofthetwelveeconomistsandsomeofthemwere
his close friends. Therefore, he is able to give colourful and penetrating
portraits that would not have been possible with the help of only written
sources.Hispersonalstylemakesthereadingagreatpleasureatthesame
time as you learn a lot both about the individuals and their subjects.”
—Bo Sandelin, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Gothenburg
Contents
1 Introduction: Twelve Figures in Swedish Economics 1
2 The Inspiration for the Heckscher–Ohlin Theorem 35
3 Gunnar Myrdal on Poverty and Circular, Cumulative
Causation 75
4 Ingvar Svennilson on Economic Planning in War
and Peace 145
5 From the Western Front: Axel Iveroth in Washington 175
6 FromtheNewWorld:IngvarSvennilsonintheUnited
States and Cuba 203
7 ‘Well, But in Those Days, Booze Was Cheap’: Jan
Wallander in the Värmland Forests 225
8 ‘Like Locusts on the Mississippi’: A Pioneer Study
of the Expansion of the Swedish Public Sector 251
9 The Political Economy of Bo Södersten 277
10 Rolf G. H. Henriksson: Portrait of an Economist 365
11 The Peasant Oppressor from Norra Fäladen: Ingemar
Ståhl and the Regulation of Swedish Agriculture 391
ix
