This book explores the development of economic thought in Sweden through some of the people who shaped it. Secondly, it focuses on a number of economists related to the Industrial Institute of Economic and Social Research: Ingvar Svennilson, Axel Iveroth, Jan Wallander, Erik Höök, Villy Bergström and Rolf Henriksson.

Chapter 1: Introduction: Twelve Figures in Swedish Economics.- Chapter 2: The Inspiration for the Heckscher-Ohlin Theorem.- Chapter 3: Gunnar Myrdal on Poverty and Circular, Cumulative Causation.- Chapter 4: Ingvar Svennilson on Economic Planning in War and Peace.- Chapter 5: From the Western Front: Axel Iveroth in Washington.- Chapter 6: From the New World: Ingvar Svennilson in the United States and Cuba.- Chapter 7: ‘Well, But in Those Days, Booze Was Cheap’: Jan Wallander in the Värmland Forests.- Chapter 8: ‘Like Locusts on the Mississippi’: A Pioneer Study of the Expansion of the Swedish Public Sector.- Chapter 9: The Political Economy of Bo Södersten.- Chapter 10: Rolf G.H. Henriksson: Portrait of an Economist.- Chapter 11: The Peasant Oppressor from Norra Fäladen: Ingemar Ståhl and the Regulation of Swedish Agriculture.- Chapter 12: My Friend Villy.- Chapter 13: Social Clauses, Harmonization and Transition Economies: The World of Göte Hansson. 

“In this collection of essays, Mats Lundahl offers an erudite exposé of twelve Swedish economists who conceived of economics as a broad social science and ventured outside the ivory tower. By presenting key parts of their work that are only available in Swedish, this book not only fills some gaps in the picture of the history of Swedish economics, it also inspires new generations of economists to communicate 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

“In this book, we learn about 12 Swedish economists. 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

“Mats Lundahl is a master of  biographical essays. In Twelve Figures in Swedish Economicshe provides new material on Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin and also presents ten more economists. His personal style makes the reading a great pleasure at the same time as you learn a lot both about the individuals and their subjects.”
—Bo Sandelin, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Gothenburg

This book explores the development of economic thought in Sweden through some of the people who shaped it. The book highlights both some of the well-known contributions and some overlooked areas of research. It begins with the origins of the pioneer neoclassical Heckscher-Ohlin theorem and Gunnar Myrdal ’s circular, cumulative approach to economic development. Secondly, it focuses on a number of economists related to the Industrial Institute of Economic and Social Research: Ingvar Svennilson, Axel Iveroth, Jan Wallander, Erik Höök, Villy Bergström and Rolf Henriksson. Finally, it offers portraits of three economists from Lund University: Bo Södersten, Ingemar Ståhl and Göte Hansson. The work of all of them is placed within the context of the contemporary academic and public economic debate. This book aims at providing a perspective on the legacy of the Swedish tradition in economics and will be relevant to students and academics interested in the history of economic thought.

Mats Lundahl is Professor emeritus of Development Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics, where he held his chair between 1987 and 2013.

Illustrates how Swedish economists gained an international reputation during the 20th century Discusses the influence lesser known economists had both within Sweden and internationally Explores the role Swedish economists have played within public policy and global economic policy

GPSR Compliance The European Union's (EU) General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) is a set of rules that requires consumer products to be safe and our obligations to ensure this. If you have any concerns about our products you can contact us on ProductSafety@springernature.com. In case Publisher is established outside the EU, the EU authorized representative is: Springer Nature Customer Service Center GmbH Europaplatz 3 69115 Heidelberg, Germany ProductSafety@springernature.com