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.