Producer services: growth and roles in long-term economic development

Abstract

This paper deals with the varying roles of producer services in economic transformation during the last 30 years in Sweden, and analyses unique longitudinal data on eight service sectors. The theoretical background for the analysis is inspired by the technology shift thesis of economic historians, and we show that the renewal and transformation of producer services has taken place later than for the manufacturing sector. The importance of producer services in national growth increased enormously towards the end of the period, but we also note that this growth has been accompanied by a divergence in growth between service sectors.