Mats Lundahl

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.

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

Twelve Figures in Swedish Economics

Mats Lundahl has written several seminal works on Haiti, and this volume brings together the best of his past work on Haiti's economic and political history, along with a comprehensive introduction and two new chapters which bring the story right up to the present day. Together, the volume provides both historical background and explanation as to why Haiti was so badly affected by the earthquake, and to why reconstruction efforts have been ineffective this far.

Destitution, Plunder and Earthquake in Haiti

The Political Economy of Disaster

Magnus Blomström

While the pitiful images of famine victims generally emanate from the very poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the entire region faces an intense economic crisis. Why is this area in a state of near-permanent crisis and perhaps more importantly, what can be done about it? In Economic Crisis in Africa the authors use country studies to examine how this situation has come about. The book is divided into four parts: Part I presents an overall perspective of the African Crisis and its management; Part II addresses the problems of the external sector; Part III discusses the crises and structural adjustment from a microperspective; and finally, Part IV examines changes in economic systems which took place during the 1980s. At a time when famine again threatens the area, this work offers a valuable insight into a highly complex and critical situation.

Perspectives on Policy Responses

Economic Crisis in Africa

This book explores the economic work and legacy of Bo Södersten. While best known internationally for his textbook International Economics, Södersten’s influence stretches well beyond this. Through his academic work and newspaper articles, he covered a wide spectrum of topics that often challenged conventional wisdom. By examining his work on housing, the labor-managed economy, development economics, nuclear power, childcare, and higher education, a full view of his diverse work is presented. This book aims to provide insight into the motivations and impact of Bo Södersten during each phase of his life: his academic career, his political life, and his time as a debater-provocateur. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in Swedish economics, the history of economic thought, and international economics.

Portrait of a Political Economist

Bo Södersten from Left to Right

Knut Wicksell is arguably the greatest Swedish social scientist of all time, and poverty was a theme that occupied him all his life. Indeed, it was probably Wicksell's interest in poverty that was the critical factor in drawing him away from his purely mathematical background towards a greater understanding of the social sciences as a whole. In this outstanding volume, Mats Lundahl, one of the world's leading development economists, examines Wicksell's thinking in the area of poverty, and shows the importance of his contributions to this field.

Knut Wicksell on the Causes of Poverty and its Remedy

Haiti is a very poor country with a stagnant economy. This title, first published in 1983, considers the Haitian economy, placing it in its historical context, and explores the reasons why it has performed so badly. Mats Lundahl examines agriculture, which has failed to provide an adequate standard of living, analyses the structure of agricultural production, and explains why the land is so unproductive. Lundahl analyses why technology in agriculture is so underdeveloped and argues that no government since 1820 has been seriously interested in fostering economic development, since vested interest consistently intervenes to discourage new projects.

Man, Land and Markets

The Haitian Economy (Routledge Revivals)

It is a major problem for less developed countries to make their primary sectors sufficiently profitable in order to be able to build up their manufacturing and service sectors. This edited collection, first published in 1985, examines the nature of the primary sector and its role in economic development. Chapters consider problems of stagnation and income distribution in such countries as Chile and Brazil; trade in national primary products and exports in Africa and the Middle East; and reform and policies of development in countries such as Peru. An interesting volume with an international scope, this title will be of value to economics students with a particular interest in the role of the primary sector in developing economies.

Proceedings of the Seventh Arne Ryde Symposium, Frostavallen, August 29-30 1983

The Primary Sector in Economic Development (Routledge Revivals)

Haiti, one of the least developed and most vulnerable nations in the Western Hemisphere, made the international headlines in January 2010 when an earthquake destroyed the capital, Port-au-Prince. More than a year later, little reconstruction has taken place, in spite of a strong international funding commitment. Mats Lundahl has written several seminal works on Haiti, and this volume brings together the best of his past work on Haiti’s economic and political history, along with a comprehensive introduction and two new chapters which bring the story right up to the present day. Together, the volume provides both historical background and explanation as to why Haiti was so badly affected by the earthquake, and to why reconstruction efforts have been ineffective this far. Lundahl argues that the two main causes can found in the interaction between the growth of the population and the destruction of the arable soil on the one hand, and in the creation of a predatory state during the nineteenth century, which still exists to this day. This book provides a comprehensive analysis, which charts these themes from the time of the arrival of Columbus in the island in 1492, to the present day. The book also deals with contemporary market and policy failures, as well as the crucial recent elections, and considers the path ahead for this impoverished nation. This book will be of huge relevance and interest not only to students and researchers in economic history, but also for all those working on development economics, development studies and American and Caribbean Studies more generally.

Jan Lundius

This book examines the relationship between economics, politics and religion through the case of Olivorio Mateo and the religious movement he inspired from 1908 in the Dominican Republic. The authors explore how and why the new religion was formed, and why it was so successful. Comparing this case with other peasant movements, they show ways in which folk religion serves as a response to particular problems which arise in peasant societies during times of stress.

A Socioeconomic Study of Dios Olivorio and the Palma Sola Religion in the Dominican Republic

Peasants and Religion

This book analyses the success and violent repression of a milennarian religious peasant movement in the Dominican Republic. It considers the role of changes in the international economic system and the arrival of capitalism in the area.

A Socioeconomic Study of Dios Olivorio and the Palma Sola Movement in the Dominican Republic

This book is concerned with the problem of achieving sustained economic growth in thirteen African countries. These are divided into three groups: the war stricken economics (Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia and Eritrea), the reform strugglers (Kenya, Cape Verde, Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe) and the growth seekers (Uganda, South Africa and Lesotho). Virtually all of these countries have gone through a structural adjustment program designed to remove imperfections that make it difficult for the market system to work in an optimal fashion. This title reviews these experiences.

From Crisis to Growth in Africa

Ronald Findlay

Professor Research Advisor Lars Jonung

Lars Jonung

Ragnar Nurkse Professor of Economics Ronald Findlay

Bertil Ohlin, international trade theorist, winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Economics, and leader of the Swedish Liberal Party for more than twenty years, is considered to be the major single influence on the development of international economics in the twentieth century. This volume, celebrating the centennial of Ohlin's birth, examines his life and his influence on modern economic thought. It also contains the first English translation of his licentiate thesis, in which he first set out his theory of international trade.

Mats Lundahl

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