The Welfare State in Transition
Reforming the Swedish Model
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The Welfare State in Transition
Reforming the Swedish Model
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.
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.
488 pages | 6 x 9 | © 1997
National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Report
Economics and Business: Economics--General Theory and Principles, Economics--International and Comparative
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Richard B. Freeman, Robert Topel, Birgitta Swedenborg.
1: Generating Equality and Eliminating Poverty, the Swedish Way
Anders Bjorklund, Richard B. Freeman.
2: Public Employment, Taxes, and the Welfare State in Sweden
Sherwin Rosen
3: Tax Policy in Sweden
Erik Norrman, Charles E. McLure, Jr.
4: Wage Policy and Restructuring: The Swedish Labor Market since 1960
Per-Anders Edin, Robert Topel.
5: The Effects of Sweden’s Welfare State on Labor Supply Incentives
Thomas Aronsson, James R. Walker.
6: An Evaluation of the Swedish Active Labor Market Policy: New and Received Wisdom
Anders Forslund, Alan B. Krueger.
7: Taxes and Subsidies in Swedish Unemployment
Lars Ljungqvist, Thomas J. Sargent.
8: The Social Costs of Regulation and Lack of Competition in Sweden: A Summary
Stefan Folster, Sam Peltzman.
9: Industrial Policy, Employer Size, and Economic Performance in Sweden
Steven J. Davis, Magnus Henrekson.
10: A Heckscher-Ohlin View of Sweden Competing in the Global Marketplace
Edward E. Leamer, Per Lundborg.
Contributors
Author Index
Subject Index
Introduction
Richard B. Freeman, Robert Topel, Birgitta Swedenborg.
1: Generating Equality and Eliminating Poverty, the Swedish Way
Anders Bjorklund, Richard B. Freeman.
2: Public Employment, Taxes, and the Welfare State in Sweden
Sherwin Rosen
3: Tax Policy in Sweden
Erik Norrman, Charles E. McLure, Jr.
4: Wage Policy and Restructuring: The Swedish Labor Market since 1960
Per-Anders Edin, Robert Topel.
5: The Effects of Sweden’s Welfare State on Labor Supply Incentives
Thomas Aronsson, James R. Walker.
6: An Evaluation of the Swedish Active Labor Market Policy: New and Received Wisdom
Anders Forslund, Alan B. Krueger.
7: Taxes and Subsidies in Swedish Unemployment
Lars Ljungqvist, Thomas J. Sargent.
8: The Social Costs of Regulation and Lack of Competition in Sweden: A Summary
Stefan Folster, Sam Peltzman.
9: Industrial Policy, Employer Size, and Economic Performance in Sweden
Steven J. Davis, Magnus Henrekson.
10: A Heckscher-Ohlin View of Sweden Competing in the Global Marketplace
Edward E. Leamer, Per Lundborg.
Contributors
Author Index
Subject Index