Introduction

Abstract

The Scandinavian Economic History Review was started 50 years ago in 1952 albeit the first issue did not appear until the summer of 1953. Professor Ernst Söder-lund of the University of Stockholm was the initiator and first editor of the journal. According to Söderlund's words in the first issue: “The Scandinavian Economic History Review has a dual purpose to fulfill: the publication of the research of Scandinavian historians and that of other historians whose subjects lie within the field of Scandinavian economic and social history. Despite the difficulties inherent in the presentation of material concerned with local and national institutions for which there are no foreign counterparts and for which-the terminology of a foreign language is understandably deficient, we regard the international nature of social and economic history as a sufficient reason for attempting the publication of this journal in an international language.”¹