Sveriges Riksbank
Economic Review
PUBLISHED BY SVERIGES RIKSBANK
2004:2
S V E R I G E S R I K S B A N K
Economic
Review
2004:2
341 123
Trycksak
SVERIGES RIKSBANK ECONOMIC REVIEW
is issued by Sveriges Riksbank four times a year.
PUBLISHER: LARS HEIKENSTEN
GOVERNOR OF SVERIGES RIKSBANK
EDITORS: STAFFAN VIOTTI, KERSTIN MITLID
AND THE COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARIAT
Sveriges Riksbank, SE-103 37 Stockholm, Sweden.
Telephone +46 8 787 00 00
The views expressed in signed articles are the
responsibility of the authors and are not to be
regarded as representing the view of the Riksbank
in the matters concerned.
Subscription to the journal and single copies
can be ordered from
Communications secretariat
Sveriges Riksbank
SE-103 37 Stockholm
E-mail forradet@riksbank.se
Fax +46 8 787 0526.
Contents
■ Can we be best again? The role of capital formation
in long-term growth 5
Villy Bergström
During the quarter-century from the early 1970s living standards in Sweden slipped in
relation to other countries. Catching up again requires a rate of productivity growth that
is some tenths of a percentage point higher than in other countries year after year. This
calls for a high rate of capital formation, more people at work and a great deal of effort
for research and development. Even if Sweden managed to achieve higher productivity
growth, catching up with Denmark and Norway would take two to three decades.
■ The financial accelerator and corporate investment 23
Claes Berg, Jan Hansen and Peter Sellin
The authors analyse how corporate balance sheets and credit terms influence corporate
investment via the financial accelerator and the part played by monetary policy in this
context. The empirical findings suggest that in addition to the variables that normally
feature in predictive equations, the financial accelerator has effects on corporate invest-
ment in Sweden that are substantial. The accelerator also seems to be of importance for
monetary policy’s impact on the business cycle.
■ Swedish monetary policy 47
Staffan Viotti
In 1993 Swede