The Political Will to Levy Local Taxes

Abstract

During the second half of the nineteenth century, the Swedish school system expanded rapidly. The school districts’ 2785 teachers in 1847 had increased to 16,619 in 1900, and the 938 school buildings owned by parishes in 1839 had increased to 8910 in 1900.¹ In the Sundsvall region, this development was even stronger. The 12 schools operating in late 1850 increased to 129 schools in 1900. The consequent increase in operational expenditure was accompanied by increased investments in school buildings. During the investigated period, 66 school building projects were completed in the Sundsvall region.²