Decentralization and Back to Centralization: the Swedish Case

  • Renate Minas
Chapter
Part of the Work and Welfare in Europe book series (RECOWE)

Abstract

Labour-market policy reform has a long tradition in Sweden. With Sweden as a pioneer, Nordic governments introduced active labour-market policies early in the twentieth century and relied on these to facilitate structural changes in the economy. A significant feature of Swedish labour-market policy since then has been extensive state intervention. With the deep economic recession and massive increase in unemployment in the early 1990s, the conditions for labour-market policy were, however, fundamentally altered. To counter fears of a longterm increase in working-age people dependent on benefit payments, as well as growing costs for social assistance and unemployment compensation, the government introduced a wide array of reforms aimed at creating and strengthening the link between work and welfare systems.

Keywords

Activation Policy Social Assistance Unemployment Insurance Private Actor Employment Service 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Ahgren, B., S. Bihari Axelsson and R. Axelsson (2009) ‘Evaluating intersectoral collaboration: A model for assessment by service users’, International Journal of Integrated Care (IJIC), 9/1, e03.Google Scholar
  2. Arbetsförmedling (2010a) Resultatrapport om kompletterande aktörer samt intern coachning, Rapport 2010 (Stockholm: Arbetsförmedling).Google Scholar
  3. Arbetsförmedling (2010b) Arbetsförmedlingens återrapportering. Fördjupade analyser (Stockholm: Arbetsförmedling).Google Scholar
  4. Bach, I. and M. Flinders (2004) Multi-Level Governance (Oxford: Oxford University Press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Bennmarker, H., E. Grönqvist and B. Öckert (2009) Betalt after resultat — utvärdering av försöksverksamhet med privata arbetsförmedlingar, IFAU Rapport 2009:23 (Uppsala: Institutet för arbetsmarknadspolitiska utvärderingar). Bergmark, Å. (2000) ‘Socialbidragen under 1990-talet’, in Å. Bergmark (ed.) Välfärd och försörjning, SOU 2000:40 (Stockholm: Fritzes).Google Scholar
  6. Bergmark, Å. (2003) ‘Activated to work? Activation policies in Sweden in the 1990s’, RFAS, 4, 291–306.Google Scholar
  7. Bergmark, Å. and R. Minas (2007) Decentralized Welfare or Universal Standards? The Transformation of Territorial Authority and Local Discretion in Sweden, Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association 2007.Google Scholar
  8. Bergmark, Å. and R. Minas (2008) ‘Ska makten över välfärden decentraliseras?’, Framtiden, 4, 27–9.Google Scholar
  9. Carling, K. and L. Larsson (2005) ‘Does early intervention help the unemployed youth?’, Labour Economics, 12/3, 301–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Considine, M. and J. M. Lewis (2003) ‘Bureaucracy, network, or enterprise? Comparing models of governance in Australia, Britain, the Netherlands, and New Zealand’, Public Administration Review, 63/2, 131–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Departementsserien (Ds) (1999) Samverkan för färre bidrag och fler jobb, DS1999:54 (Stockholm: Socialdepartementet).Google Scholar
  12. Departementsserien (Ds) (2000) Från kartläggning av behov till genomförande av arbetsmarknadsutbildning, DS 2000:38 (Stockholm: Socialdepartementet).Google Scholar
  13. De Vries, M. (2000) ‘The rise and fall of decentralization: A comparative analysis of arguments and practices in European countries’, European Journal of Political Research, 38, 193–224.Google Scholar
  14. Forslund, A. and O. Nordström Skans (2006) ‘Swedish youth labor market policies revisited’ Working Paper 2006:6 (Uppsala: IFAU Institutet för arbetsmarknadspolitiska utvärderingar).Google Scholar
  15. Giertz, A. (2004) Making the Poor Work: Social Assistance and Activation Programs in Sweden (Lund: Lund University).Google Scholar
  16. Hooghe, L. and G. Marks (2003) ‘Unraveling the central state, but how? Types of multi-level governance’, American Political Science Review, 97, 233–43.Google Scholar
  17. Korpi, T. and S.-Å. Stenberg (2001) ‘Massarbetslöshetens Sverige: Arbetslöshetens karaktär och effekter på individers levnadsförhållanden’, in J. Fritzell, M. Gähler and O. Lundberg (eds) Välfärd och arbete i arbetslöshetens årtionde SOU 2001:53 (Stockholm: Fritzes).Google Scholar
  18. Lundin, M. (2008) Kommunerna och arbetsmarknadspolitiken IFAU Rapport 2008:13 (Uppsala: Institutet för arbetsmarknadspolitiska utvärderingar).Google Scholar
  19. Milton, P. and R. Bergström (1998) Uppsalamodellen och socialbidragstagarna — En effektutvärdering CUS Skrift 1998:1 (Stockholm: Centrum för utvärdering av socialt arbete, Socialstyrelsen).Google Scholar
  20. Minas, R. (2008) ‘Arbete med socialbidrag. Organisation och metoder, kontinuitet och förändring’, in Å. Bergmark, R. Minas, T. Lundström and S. Wiklund (eds) Socialtjänsten i blickfånget — Organisation, resurser och insatser. Exempel från arbete med barn och ungdom, försörjningsstöd, missbruk (Stockholm: Natur och Kultur).Google Scholar
  21. Mosley, H., H. Schütz and N. Breyer (2001) Management by Objectives in European Public Employment Services Discussion Paper FS I 01–203 (Berlin: Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung).Google Scholar
  22. Norman, C. and R. Axelsson (2007) ‘Cooperation as a strategy for provision of welfare services — A study of a rehabilitation project in Sweden’, The European Journal of Public Health, 17/5, 532–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Page, E.C. and M.J. Goldsmith (1987) (eds) Central and Local Government Relations (London: Sage).Google Scholar
  24. Paraskevopoulos, C.J. (2002) ‘New institutionalism and EU regional policy: Multi-level governance by “thin” or “thick” institutions?’, Current Politics and Economics of Europe, 11/2, 59–79.Google Scholar
  25. Salonen, T. and R. Ulmestig (2004) Nedersta trappsteget. En studie om kommunal aktivering Rapportserie i socialt arbete, 1:2004 (IVOSA, Växjö University).Google Scholar
  26. Scharpf, F.W. (2001) European Governance: Common Concerns vs. the Challenge of Diversity, MPIfG Working Paper 01/6.Google Scholar
  27. Sibbmark, K. and A. Forslund (2005) Kommunala arbetsmarknadsinsatser riktade till ungdomar mellan 18 och 24 år IFAU rapport 2005:9 (Uppsala: IFAU Institutet för arbetsmarknadspolitiska utvärderingar).Google Scholar
  28. Sjögren Lindquist, G. (2007) Unemployment Insurance, Social Assistance and Activation Policy in Sweden. Peer Review: Implementierung the news basic allowance for job seekers, Berlin.Google Scholar
  29. Stoker, G. (1998) ‘Governance as theory: Five propositions’, International Social Science Journal, 50/1, 17–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Svenningsson, L. (2003) ‘Sweden, new pathways to labour market policy’, in OECD, Managing Decentralisation: A New Role for Labour Market Policy (Paris: OECD).Google Scholar
  31. Thorén, K. (2005) Kommunal aktiveringspolitik: en fallstudie av det praktiska arbetet med arbetslösa socialbidragstagare IFAU rapport 2005:11 (Uppsala: Institutet för arbetsmarknadspolitiska utvärderingar).Google Scholar
  32. Weishaupt, T. (2010) ‘A silent revolution? New management ideas and the reinvention of European Public Employment Services’, Socio-Economic Review, 8/3, 461–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Renate Minas 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Renate Minas

There are no affiliations available

Personalised recommendations