Regional development, transport infrastructure and government policy : The case of ice-breaking along the coastline of Norrland, Sweden, 1940–1975

• Main Author: Eriksson, Martin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Institutionen för ekonomisk historia 2010
• Subjects: regional economic history; Norrland; winter navigation; ice-breaker policy; decision-making; regional interest groups; institutional analysis; corporatism; concerted action; Economic History; Ekonomisk historia; Breaker; Canada; Journal of Northern Studies
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-38222

Due to the cold climate, navigation along the coast lines of the northern regions in Sweden, Finland, Canada, Russia and the United States must negotiate winter conditions which cause ports to freeze over. In order to avoid the negative economic effects of such interruptions, ice-breaking and other measures to facilitate winter navigation have been introduced. This article deals with the introduction of ice-breaking along the coast line of the five northernmost counties in Sweden, the Norrland region, from a perspective that examines and analyzes the underlying decision-making processes. It is concluded that the ability of regional interest groups to link their demands for an improved ice-breaker service to important aims within macro policy such as trade policy, growth policy and regional development policy contributed to the outcome of the decision-making processes. The international competitiveness of the export industries in Norrland was therefore regarded as a national concern during the decision-making processes. Another factor that contributed to the outcome of the decision-making processes was the sectoral organization within the government maritime bodies. Large-scale planning and operational experimentation was allowed to take place within the ice-breaker service, which convinced the government that ice-breaking and winter navigation were a feasible transport alternative.