2018/09/02 by Rodney Edvinsson, Christoffer Tarek Gad · 1 citation
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Historical Economic and Social Studies #Economic Growth and Productivity #Global trade and economics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/03585522.2018.1516234
openalex publication_date 2018/09/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/19
This paper presents a newly constructed database on foreign trade of Sweden–Finland 1738–1805, consisting of all exports and imports that were recorded by the custom houses in this period, and is made available at www.historia.se/Swedish foreign trade 17381805.xlsx. The traditional view as presented by Eli Heckscher, who was very critical of the mercantilist policies of the time, was that the overseas trade of Sweden-Finland saw a trend of secular stagnation during the course of the eighteenth century. By contrast, we show that in conjunction with a substantial expansion of the population, total trade nearly increased twofold during the period of study. Despite that, there was a small decrease in the value of exports in relation to GDP, mostly explained by a drop in the relative price of bar iron. The degree of specialisation of Swedish exports saw a declining tendency in this period. While exports from Sweden had a higher degree of specialisation than Finnish exports, imported goods to Finland were more concentrated than Swedish imports. Lastly, the composition of imports did not markedly alter, meaning that a consumer revolution did not take place in either Sweden or Finland.