A Tendency for the Rate of Profit to Fall? From Primitive to Flexible Accumulation in Sweden 1800-2005

Abstract

Using Swedish historical national accounts, this paper shows that, up to the 1970s, there has been a secular rise in the national capital/output ratio and a secular fall in the rate of exploitation, which tended to depress the profit rate. In Sweden, the nominal capital/output ratio increased fastest during the transition from primitive to accelerated accumulation in the 19th century. Since the 1970s, these secular trends have been reversed, which is connected to flexible accumulation that slims down the inventory stock to a minimum and destroys old consensus between capital and labor. JEL classification:B51, E11, N13, N14