The Welfare State and the Economy

Abstract

Throughout the summer of 2001,Swedish newspapers reported extensively on the apparently dropping quality of public health care. For instance, the major paper in the Göteborg area arranged a phone-in where readers called journalists and shared their personal health care experiences.1 One man told the following story: “Politicians should not use the word welfare anymore when talking about Sweden. My wife had to wait for four hours with a broken arm at the local health care central in Falkenberg.Then she was sent to Varberg for another five hours of waiting. All in all, it took twelve hours before her arm was in a cast. It’s a scandal.” The whole event was summarized like this: “. . . they all told similar stories.They all expressed anger, fear, and disappointment. Several said the staff should not be blamed, but rather the organization and, ultimately, the politicians.”