Value creation and structural change during the third industrial revolution : the Swedish economy from a vertical perspective

The conventional approach to the analysis of structural change is to apply a horizontal perspective on the economy. This means that sectors are studied in isolation. By the integration of two strands of literature on structural change and the role of technology, evolutionary economics and input-output economics, this thesis applies a vertical perspective on the economy – how production processes create, and alter, the intermediate interdependencies between horizontally represented sectors. With this approach, several wellestablished notions about the contemporary Swedish economy are analysed from a new angle. These concern the level of specialization, the process of deindustrialization, the growing importance of business services, the productivity leadership of the manufacturing sector, and reduced competitiveness. It is argued that a vertical perspective contributes to a new and more complete understanding of value creation and structural change during the Third industrial revolution.