Population, Economy, and Welfare in Sweden
Population, Economy, and Welfare in Sweden

Author: Tommy Bengtsson

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 3642851703

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Tommy Bengtsson The Swedish welfare model of the 1960s and 1970s excited great interest among many other countries. Today it still is an ideal image for some but a warning for many others. The reason why opinion about the Swedish welfare model has changed is primarily Sweden's financial problems, which are associated with a badly financed and excessively large public sector. It is argued that the size of the budget deficit is a great problem in itself, but also, and perhaps more importantly, that the large public sector has negative effects on the entire economy since it lead to inefficient allocation of resources. A first step in order to solve these problems is to examine how they arose. The questions then are to what extent the large public sector which Sweden has today results from social entitlements which have come into existence since the 1960s, from the maturing of welfare systems decided upon earlier, from unfavourable demographic developments, or from economic stagnation, and how these factors are interlinked. What is quite clear is that Sweden has had very low economic growth during the 1970s and 1980s compared with the preceding period. But so have many other industrial countries, without their having in consequence found themselves in diffi culties as great as Sweden's. Therefore economic stagnation alone cannot explain Sweden's situation.

Reforming the Welfare State
Reforming the Welfare State

Author: Richard B. Freeman

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2010-04-15

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 0226261913

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Over the course of the twentieth century, Sweden carried out one of the most ambitious experiments by a capitalist market economy in developing a large and active welfare state. Sweden's generous social programs and the economic equality they fostered became an example for other countries to emulate. Of late, Sweden has also been much discussed as a model of how to deal with financial and economic crisis, due to the country's recovery from a banking crisis in the mid-1990s. At that time economists heatedly debated whether the welfare state caused Sweden's crisis and should be reformed—a debate with clear parallels to current concerns over capitalism. Bringing together leading economists, Reforming the Welfare State examines Sweden's policies in response to the mid-1990s crisis and the implications for the subsequent recovery. Among the issues investigated are the way changes in the labor market, tax and benefit policies, local government policy, industrial structure, and international trade affected Sweden's recovery. The way that Sweden addressed its economic challenges provides valuable insight into the viability of large welfare states, and more broadly, into the way modern economies deal with crisis.

Population Ageing - A Threat to the Welfare State?
Population Ageing - A Threat to the Welfare State?

Author: Tommy Bengtsson

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2010-08-02

Total Pages: 137

ISBN-13: 364212612X

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Tommy Bengtsson Population ageing, the shift in age distribution towards older ages, is of immense global concern. It is taking place to a varying degree all over the world, more in Europe and some Asian countries, less on the African continent. The worldwide share of people aged 65 years and above is predicted to increase from 7. 5% in 2005 to 16. 1% in 2050 (UN 2007, p. 11). The corresponding ?gures for developed countries are 15. 5 and 26. 2% and for developing countries 5. 5 and 14. 6%. While population ageing has been going on for some time in the developed world, and will continue to do so, most of the change is yet to come for the developing world. The change in developing countries, however, is going to be much faster than it has been in the developed world. For example, while it took more than 100 years in France and more than 80 years in Sweden for the population group aged 65 and above to increase from 7 to 14% of the population, the same change in Japan took place over a 25-year period (UN 2007, p. 13). The scenario for the future is very similar for most developing countries, including highly populated countries like China, India and Brazil. While the start and the speed differ, the shift in age structure towards older ages is a worldwide phenomenon, stressing the signi?cance of the concept global ageing.

Mass Challenge
Mass Challenge

Author: Tino Sanandaji

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-09-26

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 3030468089

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This book addresses the socioeconomic effects of immigration to Sweden. Historically, Sweden was a homogeneous country. In recent years, this has changed dramatically as Sweden has received more refugees per capita than any comparable country: this makes Sweden an interesting case study for analyzing the social and economic impact of refugee migration to European welfare states. The book highlights the long-term effects of low-skilled immigration to welfare states, while tying this to the broader European experience. Much of the public discussion of immigration in the West has focused on the American experience, which differs significantly from refugee migration to European welfare states. Research has shown that immigration is not a unitary phenomenon, and that its social and economic effects depend both on the type of migrants and on the receiving country. As demonstrated in the book, European welfare states have fairly similar outcomes with regard to refugee migration, but with differences in degree and the scale of migration. Their experience, however, contrasts with American outcomes as well as with high-skilled migration to Europe. This book is a translated, updated, and expanded version of the successful Swedish original entitled Massutmaning (2017). This book is translated by Jonas Vesterberg and edited by Pontus Tholin.

The Welfare State in Transition
The Welfare State in Transition

Author: Richard B. Freeman

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2008-04-15

Total Pages: 490

ISBN-13: 0226261859

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Once heralded in the 1950s and 1960s as a model welfare state, Sweden is now in transition and in trouble since its economic plunge in the early 1990s. This volume presents ten essays that examine Sweden's economic problems from a U.S. perspective. Exploring such diverse topics as income equalization and efficiency, welfare and tax policy, wage determination and unemployment, and international competitiveness and growth, they consider how Sweden's welfare state succeeded in eliminating poverty and became a role model for other countries. They then reflect on Sweden's past economic problems, such as the increase in government spending and the fall in industrial productivity, warning of problems to come. Finally they review the consequences of the collapse of Sweden's economy in the early 1990s, exploring the implications of its efforts to reform its welfare state and reestablish a healthy economy. This volume will be of interest to policymakers and analysts, social scientists, and economists interested in welfare states.

Migration and Social Protection in Europe and Beyond (Volume 1)
Migration and Social Protection in Europe and Beyond (Volume 1)

Author: Jean-Michel Lafleur

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-10-30

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 303051241X

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This first open access book in a series of three volumes provides an in-depth analysis of social protection policies that EU Member States make accessible to resident nationals, non-resident nationals and non-national residents. In doing so, it discusses different scenarios in which the interplay between nationality and residence could lead to inequalities of access to welfare. Each chapter maps the eligibility conditions for accessing social benefits, by paying particular attention to the social entitlements that migrants can claim in host countries and/or export from home countries. The book also identifies and compares recent trends of access to welfare entitlements across five policy areas: health care, unemployment, family benefits, pensions, and guaranteed minimum resources. As such this book is a valuable read to researchers, policy makers, government employees and NGO’s.

The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century
The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2003-02-01

Total Pages: 536

ISBN-13: 0309133181

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The anthrax incidents following the 9/11 terrorist attacks put the spotlight on the nation's public health agencies, placing it under an unprecedented scrutiny that added new dimensions to the complex issues considered in this report. The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century reaffirms the vision of Healthy People 2010, and outlines a systems approach to assuring the nation's health in practice, research, and policy. This approach focuses on joining the unique resources and perspectives of diverse sectors and entities and challenges these groups to work in a concerted, strategic way to promote and protect the public's health. Focusing on diverse partnerships as the framework for public health, the book discusses: The need for a shift from an individual to a population-based approach in practice, research, policy, and community engagement. The status of the governmental public health infrastructure and what needs to be improved, including its interface with the health care delivery system. The roles nongovernment actors, such as academia, business, local communities and the media can play in creating a healthy nation. Providing an accessible analysis, this book will be important to public health policy-makers and practitioners, business and community leaders, health advocates, educators and journalists.

An Economic History of Sweden
An Economic History of Sweden

Author: Lars Magnusson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2000-03-23

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 113467595X

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This book represents the first recent attempt to provide a comprehensive treatment of Sweden's economic development since the middle of the 18th century. It traces the rapid industrialisation, the political currents and the social ambitions, that transformed Sweden from a backward agrarian economy into what is now regarded by many as a model welfar

The Demographic Dividend
The Demographic Dividend

Author: David Bloom

Publisher: Rand Corporation

Published: 2003-02-13

Total Pages: 127

ISBN-13: 0833033735

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There is long-standing debate on how population growth affects national economies. A new report from Population Matters examines the history of this debate and synthesizes current research on the topic. The authors, led by Harvard economist David Bloom, conclude that population age structure, more than size or growth per se, affects economic development, and that reducing high fertility can create opportunities for economic growth if the right kinds of educational, health, and labor-market policies are in place. The report also examines specific regions of the world and how their differing policy environments have affected the relationship between population change and economic development.