United and divided : early modern economic history in Finnish and Swedish academic literature

Abstract

In this chapter, we analyze Finnish and Swedish economic history research on these countries’ common past (prior to 1809) and the early modern era (defined here as between 1500 and 1850). Using extensive bibliometric databases, we show that even when they focus on the early modern era, economic historians most often analyze Finland and Sweden in terms of their modern borders. Researchers based in Finland are more likely to take both countries into account than researchers from Sweden or anywhere else. This does not necessarily reflect an integrated analysis of the region’s common past but is often rather a comparison of Finnish and Swedish economic performance.