No 2007/5 Industrial dynamics and innovative pressure on energy - Sweden with European and Global outlooks

Abstract

The focus in this paper is on industrial dynamics and its impact on energy systems. We highlight some fundamental patterns of this long-term dynamics, using the Dahmenian concept ‘development blocks’, with ‘market widening’ and ‘market suction’, and discuss the implications for innovative pressure in the energy sector. We discern three epochs in the historical data: the Traditional Areal Epoch, the Punctiform Industrial Epoch and the Modern Areal Epoch. Each epoch has its typical energy sources and encompasses some fundamental development blocks. The Modern Areal Epoch is in formation at the end of the 20th century; its innovations are still under incremental evolution, and we discuss its future potential - in particular in relation to those shifts in markets that presently occur due to global spread of industrialization and economic growth.