Studies on the productivity of Swedish companies

High productivity growth, which allows the production of more goods and services using existing resources, is critical to a country’s development. Historically, Sweden has had high productivity growth, particularly from an international viewpoint. But productivity growth in Sweden has leveled off since the global financial crisis 2007–2009.

The aim of the project is to study productivity in Swedish industry. The research team intends to do so using applied microeconomic tools and detailed register data covering all companies and employees in Sweden over three decades.

The results of the research are expected to yield a better understanding of policy measures that may be capable of restoring high productivity growth in Sweden.

The research will focus on three core areas:

1. Multinational companies. The researchers will study whether changes in global value chains impact productivity and the labor force at Swedish multinational corporations. They are also planning to examine how foreign corporate acquisitions impact local companies and labor markets. 
2. Generative artificial intelligence. The researchers will be examining the implications of the latest progress in generative artificial intelligence for company profits, productivity distribution, employment, production and investment.
3. Competition and ownership. The researchers plan to study the relationship between competition and productivity, how a company’s ownership structure interacts with productivity and human capital, and also how regulatory sandboxes impact the innovative capacity and productivity of companies.