Sweden’s Transport Infrastructure History—Coevolution and Conflict

Abstract

This chapter, entails two examples of applications of the theories outlined in Chapters 2–4. First, a chronological description of transport infrastructure policy in Sweden from the 1930s to the 2010s is presented based on the coevolutionary perspective. Second, Swedish financing and management policies in the transport infrastructure sector from the Second World War are analyzed, based on the application of marginal cost or full cost coverage policies. Both these policies have been in use in Sweden since the 1940s. The chapter discusses how the different policy settings have affected resource allocation and efficiency in the sector. The chapter exemplifies from a Swedish perspective how the coevolutionary approach underpins an understanding and analysis of the development of transport infrastructure and the government’s role from the 1930s to the 2010s. The different factors in the model have had varying impacts during the period and affected policy decisions in different ways. The government seems to have been reluctant to engage itself as owner of the road and railroad systems and waited a long time to take these measures. As owner of the systems, the government has acted pragmatically and through gradual policy development and adjustment preserved its ownership of roads and railroads.