2025/08/20 by Thor Berger, Vinzent Ostermeyer · 1 voice · 1 citation
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Decision Sciences · #Economic Growth and Productivity #Italy: Economic History and Contemporary Issues #Innovation Diffusion and Forecasting
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s0022050725100855
openalex publication_date 2025/08/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
This paper documents how the advent of the limited liability corporation contributed to the diffusion of steam technology during Sweden’s industrialization. Using longitudinal establishment-level data, we show that incorporation sharply raised the probability that industrial establishments adopted steam. Incorporation facilitated technology adoption partly by enabling smaller establishments to expand to a greater scale, where the use of steam became feasible. These results highlight that low barriers to incorporation may be an important lever for facilitating the diffusion of new technologies.