A number of studies have shown that countries, which are more open have a greater capacity to imitate technological progress. The capacity to renew regulatory frameworks and institutions to enable the country to embrace change is an important part of this openness. Obstacles to ideas, goods, services and production factors moving freely across borders have declined during the 1990s, partly thanks to our membership of the EU, and it is reasonable to assume that this has had a positive effect on factor productivity. For a small country like Sweden, internationalisation and increased international competition are expected to lead to particularly favourable productivity effects. Various measures indicate a marked increase in the degree of internationalisation in the Swedish economy. Both the import share and the export share have risen, which means that trade and the degree of specialisation have increased. Moreover, foreign direct investment in Sweden has multiplied and it is mainly direct investment from EU countries that has increased. Although the increasing international openness has been pronounced in Sweden with, for instance, a rise of 13 percentage points in the export share of GDP during the 1990s, there are several smaller countries that have shown an even more rapid increase in the equivalent figures. This reflects the globalised world in which we live, and does not reduce the significance of openness for the development of factor productivity. Internationalisation has thus contributed to ensuring that an increasing percentage of trade and industry is exposed to competition.

The Commission's assessment is that the fundamental reason is the lack of competition in Swedish trade and industry. One indicator of the lack of competition is that prices on a large number of goods are much higher in Sweden than in other countries. Other indicators are the many public regulations of the market, the agreements between companies that limit competition and the monopoly-like market structure in many sectors. The limitations to competition are a clear example of how vested interests dominate over general consumer interests." More recently, this type of question has arisen with regard, for instance, to the EU Commission's revelations of price collaboration between the airline companies SAS and Maersk. From an economic perspective, these are important questions that motivate a broad discussion. From a monetary policy perspective, an influence on price developments from changed conditions for competition is one of several important areas that we at the Riksbank must consider, as the potential growth rate depends on how effectively resources are allocated. To summarise, there has been considerable change in the Swedish economy in recent times. The external framework is currently characterised by significant fiscal and monetary stability, which facilitates planning and decision-making by both households and companies. These fundamental conditions, together with a pronounced increase in openness towards the outside world give reason to expect a continued favourable development in productivity. At the same time, one should remember that several markets in Sweden still show clear signs of poor competition. This involves considerable cost.