Abstract
This dissertation is an attempt to interpret a critical period of Swedish history, the first wave of industrialization, from 1871 to 1890. The questions raised have been important issues in Swedish history. What accounts for the growth during the period? What determined agricultural development? Did the falling world market price on grain really play a depressive role, or were there other offsetting forces? What explains emigration and what was its influence on the Swedish economy? These questions are still debated. Yet while the issues discussed in this dissertation are old, the methods are not. The author applies a non-linear computable general equilibrium model to these problems. The model is designed to describe Swedish demo-economic development during its first phase of industrialization. Through counterfactual simulations the different questions are addressed. The results indicate the importance of a general equilibrium approach rather than a partial one. The role of certain strategic variables changes when the interactions between sectors and markets are taken into account.