Karl-Johan Lundquist

The Interspace between Denmark and Sweden: The Industrial Dynamics of the Öresund Cross-Border Region

Abstract Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 106(1): 115–129, 2006 The fixed link between the urban areas of Malmö-Lund in Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark has improved the accessibility considerably opening up for new possibilities of exploiting the economic potentials. The main objective of the paper is to analyse the implications of the industrial development of the Öresund area being part of two different national industrial structures that are based on different national systems of innovation. In order to carry out an analysis of the industrial structure the key task of the paper is to present and discuss the methodological and empirical framework that makes an analysis of the industrial development possible. The paper provides the necessary data to perform an empirical analysis with an identical division of industries based on the inter-industry differences in research and knowledge intensity. The results indicate that Sweden and Denmark develop along two different national cycles during the 1990s which are not compatible to each other. The national development and the position in the urban and regional systems are considered vital explanations in order to understand the manufacturing sectors development in the Öresund region.

Producer services: growth and roles in long-term economic development

This paper deals with the varying roles of producer services in economic transformation during the last 30 years in Sweden, and analyses unique longitudinal data on eight service sectors. The theoretical background for the analysis is inspired by the technology shift thesis of economic historians, and we show that the renewal and transformation of producer services has taken place later than for the manufacturing sector. The importance of producer services in national growth increased enormously towards the end of the period, but we also note that this growth has been accompanied by a divergence in growth between service sectors.

Technological Change and Geographical Reallocation of Labour: On the Role of Leading Industries

Martynovich M. and Lundquist K.-J. Technological change and geographical reallocation of labour: on the role of leading industries, Regional Studies. This paper analyses inter-regional labour reallocation in Sweden over the period 1985–2008 and assesses the effects of technology-induced structural change on the ability of regions to attract and retain workers. The findings suggest that (1) the regional presence of leading industries associated with technological change has a significant effect; (2) the importance of leading industries is of dynamic character as various functional groups of leading industries play different roles at different stages of the technology-induced transformation process; and (3) while manufacturing branches act as a stabilizing factor, i.e. helping regions to retain workers, service industries drive labour reallocation in terms of attracting workers to regions.