Marshall’s Influence on Swedish Economic Thought

Abstract

Alfred Marshall was by no means ignored, but his influence on Swedish economic thought at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century was limited. On the general level, science and culture in Sweden were more dependent on the German-language countries. In a small country like Sweden, where there were only two chairs in economics in 1900, and eight in 1940, a few individuals embodied the development of the discipline. Knut Wicksell’s theory of value and capital was mainly influenced by Jevons, Menger, Walras and, especially, Böhm-Bawerk. Gustav Cassel was inspired especially by Walras, but preferred Marshall to Böhm-Bawerk. There are not many references to Marshall in´Heckscher's writings, but there may have been an indirect influence. Myrdal was well aware of Marshall's positions, but Marshall does not seem to have been an especially important source of inspiration. Marshall's Principles and Economics of Industry can be found in students' reading lists at Swedish universities during the first decades of the 20th century, often as optional literature.