Social change and health in Sweden: 250 years of politics and practice

This remarkable book, written by Jan Sundin and Sam Willner, is an history of Public Health in Sweden, extremely detailed and interesting for the foreign (and Swedish) reader. I hope that you will be interested and buy it, it is worth it.

Introduction
This book is a shorter version of a recently published anthology in Swedish, with certain amendments and additions to make the contents more accessible to an international audience [1]. It is a historical journey
through 250 years of Swedish public health (epidemiological and demographic evidence, ideas, politics and practices) following the transition of Sweden from a traditional agricultural society to the “post-industrial”
world. Although based on Swedish experiences, the book also puts the country’s history into a wider international perspective. Sweden was of course not isolated from the rest of Europe and public health ideas and policies were formulated and practised in a European context.

End of Equality? The Welfare State Model Beyond the Crisis

The last delivery of Framtider, the magazine of the Swedish Institute for Future Studies, is extremely interesting as, beyond the usual critics and opponents to the Swedish model, it is a well documented analysis on the real situation in Sweden. Joakim Palme, Director of the Institute for Futures Studies, Johan Fritzell is Professor of sociology and director of research at the Institute, and Åke Bergmark, Professor of social work and research director at the Institute have an interesting approach about the real Swedish situation. And of its dangers.

What shape is the Swedish welfare state model in following the austerity measures of the 1990s? Since the model is so intrinsically connected to the concept of equality, any assessment of changes in the model should also consider how equality in people’s living conditions has been affected. From an analytical perspective, the Swedish tradition of welfare research further implies that we should make a distinction between the welfare state institutions as such and the resources that make it possible for individuals to control their own lives, i.e. what ultimately determines their welfare. How, then, is inequality changing in the beginning of the 21st century after a decade of economic growth above the European average?

From welfare states to partnering societies - the new framework for changing welfare

There are different views on welfare in our world. It does not exist or is very limited for a large majority of our fellows human beings in the world, It is restricted voluntarily to a living minimum (some would say less) in the US and some European countries, and it is extremely developped in some central european countries, such as France and Germany, and in the Nordic European countries. This working paper, written in 2006 by Elina Palola, Taina Rintala and Annikki Savio, insists on the necessity of renovating welfare policies by introducing the notion of partnership, and thus developing democracy … and efficience. It is part of a global concept that I personally call the next step of (social) democracy, after the failure of the british third way.

Conclusion

The concept of partnership as a means of social description suggests a crumbling of old social structures, a constant flow of messages and a resultant reconstruction of social reality (Allardt 1998, 93). A sign of the change of social structures and practices is that we have increasingly moved from representative democracy to deliberative democracy: With the emergence of various partnership networks, there is no longer any need to make traditional distinctions, divisions and categorisations – for instance, between the public and the private or the economy and the social – but different processes and dimensions intertwine to an ever greater degree; at the same time the arenas of impartial communication disappear.

Growth and equity in Finland

Inequalities increase, profits grow, poverty increase… Is it unavoidable? Conservatives consider that it is necessary for our societies to progress, but there is no absolute evidence. Look at this paper written by the finnish researchers Markus Jäntti (Åbo Akademi University, Turku and WIDER, Helsinki), Juho Saari (University of Turku) and Juhana Vartiainen (Trade Union Institute for Economic Research, Stockholm) in November 2005: equity has supported the finnish growth, or at least has not prevented it.

Abstract

This paper reviews Finnish economic history during the “long” 20th century with a special emphasis on policies for equity and growth. We argue that Finland developed from a poor, vulnerable and conflict-prone country to a modern economy in part through policies geared at both growth and equity, such as land reform and compulsory schooling.

Does a pint a day affect your child’s pay? The effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on adult outcomes

This article published in March 2008 has been wrtitten by J Peter Nilsson, from the Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation (IFAU) in Uppsala (Sweden), and is is about long term (worklife) consequences of exposing babies in utero to alcohol. Interesting.

Abstract
This paper utilizes a Swedish alcohol policy experiment conducted in the late 1960s to identify the impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on educational attainments and labor market outcomes. The experiment started in November 1967 and was prematurely discontinued in July 1968 due to a sharp increase in alcohol consumption in the experimental regions, particularly among youths. Using a difference-in-difference-in-differences strategy we find that around age 30 the cohort in utero during the experiment have substantially reduced educational attainments, lower earnings and higher welfare dependency rates compared to the surrounding cohorts. The results indicate that investments in early-life health may have far reaching effects on economic outcomes later in life.

Is training affecting the employment of those trained, and increasing the wages?

Some people have their doubts, but there is evidence, for example in this study”The aggregate labor market effects of the Swedish knowledge lift program”, written by James Albrecht (Department of Economics, Georgetown University; IZA; IFAU-Uppsala, CESifo), Gerard J. van den Berg (Department of Economics, Free University Amsterdam; IFAU-Uppsala; Tinbergen Institute; CEPR; IZA; IFS) and Susan Vroman (Department of Economics, Georgetown University; IZA; IFAU-Uppsala; CESi7), published by the Swedish institute for Labour Market Evaluation in December 2007.

Abstract
The Swedish adult education program known as the Knowledge Lift (1997-2002) was unprecedented in its size and scope, aiming to raise the skill level of large numbers of low-skill workers. This paper evaluates the potential effects of this program on aggregate labor market outcomes. This is done by calibrating an equilibrium search model with heterogeneous worker skills using pre-program data and then forecasting the program impacts. Our calibrations suggest that the equilibrium treatment effects were positive - wages are predicted to increase, as are the employment rates of the treated. The equilibrium effects magnify the partial effects by a factor 1.5 to 2. This is due to the increase in demand for skills that is triggered by the increase in its supply.

Does education pay on the labour market?

In this article, “The importance of education for the reallocation of labor: Evidence from Swedish linked employer-employee data 1986-2002″ written by Marie Gartell, Ann-Christin Jans, Helena Persson for the Institute of Future studies, we have a clear demonstration of the impact of education on unemployment. I just wish that all our deciders in the US and in Europe read it….

Abstract

Using employer-employee data covering the whole Swedish economy over a uniquely long time period from 1986 to 2002, we examine how job flows and worker flows have been distributed both on an aggregate level and across educa-tional levels. We find that job and worker flows vary by educational level, not only with respect to magnitude and variation, but with respect to direction as well. Our results show that analyses that do not account for the educational level of workers can be very misleading.

Gentle Justice: Analysis of Open Prison Systems in Finland. A Way to the Future?

Here is a dissertation from the Tampere university, in Finland, written in 2007 by Ekunwe Ikponwosa, which is interesting for those who are looking to lower the recidivism rate and avoid to have a large part of the population out of the society.

Abstract:

This study analyses the open prison system as a gentle way of incarceration and as a humane way of treating offenders with the objective of bringing malefactors in line with society’s accepted social norms.

Is the gender wage gap due to the long career interruptions of women because of having children?

Jenni Kellokumpu, from the Labour Institute for Economic Research , in Helsinki (Finland) has proven here that a big part of the gender gap in wages is directly linked in Finland to parental leaves. This article, “Baby and Pay:The Family Gap in Finland” is part of the Combining Work and Family - a Challenge for Equality Planning Research rogram (project code S 01912) funded by the European Social Fund.

Abstract

The effect of career interruptions due to parental leave is estimated based on longitudinal data set covering the years 1995-2002. The estimated model controls for unobserved time-constant heterogeneity and for hours worked. There appears to be a significant negative relation between career interruptions due to childbirth and subsequent wages for women in Finland.

Minimum wages and youth employment: decreasing the wages had no effect on youth employment

This article, “Minimum wages and youth employment: Evidence the Finnish retail trade sector” is proving that in Finland, in the 90s, letting employers the possibility to pay less young people had practically no effect. It has been written by Petri Böckerman for the Labour Institute for Economic Research, and Roope Uusitalo for the Labour Institute for Economic Research and the Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation.

Abstract

Following an agreement between the trade unions and the employer organisations,
Finnish employers could pay less than the existing minimum wage for young workers
between 1993 and 1995. We examine the effects of these minimum wage exceptions
by comparing the changes in wages and employment of the groups whose minimum
wages were reduced with simultaneous changes among slightly older workers for
whom the minimum wage regulation was still binding. Our analysis is based on the
payroll record data and minimum wage agreements from the retail trade sector over
the period 1990-2005. We discover that average wages in the eligible group declined
only modestly despite the fact that the excess supply of labour during high
unemployment should make it relatively easy to attract workers even with low wages.
The minimum wage exceptions had no positive effects on employment.