The Swedish Model under Stress: A View from the Stands
SNS Economic Policy Group Report 1997
The Swedish Model under Stress: A View from the Stands
Thorvaldur Gylfason (ed.)
Why is there virtually no unemployment in the Czech Republic or in Thailand? Why do some economies grow rapidly over long periods and rush up the international income ladder, while others languish? Why have some countries managed to embark on radical economic and institutional reforms in recent years, while for others it has been business as usual despite serious economic problems? The book addresses these major questions together with other related issues. From the perspective of the persistent double-digit unemployment and sluggish economic growth that have plauged Sweden in the 1990s, the authors examine whether there are new lessons to be drawn from the experience of the most successful economies in the world in recent years. Success, the authors believe, may provide better guidance into the future than failure. In this spirit, they attempt to illuminate the economic problems of Sweden from new angles.
Authors:
Thorvaldur Gylfason, Professor of Economics, University of Iceland,
Torben M. Andersen, Professor of Economics, University of Aarhus,
Seppo Honkapohja, Professor of Economics, University of Helsinki,
Arne Jon Isachsen, Professor of International Economics, Norwegian School of Management, and
John Williamson, Chief of Economist for South Asia, World Bank.
| The SNS Economic Policy Group Reports – Background and Purpose | 7 | |
| A Word of Thanks | 9 | |
| 1 | The Swedish Model under Stress: Introduction and Overview | 11 |
| 2 | Unemployment: Lessons from Eastern Europe | 26 |
| 3 | Swedish Labour: In Quest of a Market | 46 |
| 4 | Growing Together: Lessons from East Asia | 72 |
| 5 | Educating Sweden | 89 |
| 6 | The Public Sector: Size and Efficiency | 104 |
| 7 | Economic Reform around the World | 121 |
| References | 138 | |
| Cast of Characters | 146 |
Available from Barnes and Noble
Further information from the publisher
Review by David Reisman in the Economic Journal, vol. 108, no. 450, September 1998, pp. 1664-5.