Swedish Policy Research Articles

Söndrade kroppar, invasiv bemanning och prekära anställningar. Intersektionella perspektiv på försörjning, lönearbete och social reproduktion

While wage labor has been celebrated as a means of women’s emancipation within Swedish gender equality policy, unequal workplaces, the prevalence of sexual harassment, precarious working conditions, and work-related health issues indicate that wage labor also entails serious problems for many women. This article examines how unstable working conditions and work organizations built on precarious labor and flexible staffing strategies impact women’s well-being. Through feminist intersectional perspectives on social reproduction, the analysis sheds light on the risks posed by current work models to workers’ health, work capacity and liveability. The article is based on survey responses among retail workers. Their responses show that working life in retail is characterized not only by precarious employment conditions but also by invasive staffing strategies. The consequences are precarious livelihoods, stress, and limited possibilities to leisure time and social relationships. The lack of opportunities to recover highlights how workers’ bodies bear the brunt of companies’ pursuit of precarization. Building on theories of social reproduction and an analysis of working conditions in retail, we call for a deeper examination of the role of wage labor in feminist strategies.

Skolchef i komvux - mellan politik och rektor i styrkedjan

Superintendent in Municipal adult edcuation - Between Politics and Principal in the Governance Chain. Swedish education policy often emphasises that the superintendent, in the form of the representative for the municipality authority, must take more responsibility for the quality of education. This also applies to municipal adult education (MAE), a form of schooling that differs from the rest of the school system regarding governance. However, there has been limited research conducted on it. Based on Bacchi’s (2009) WPR approach, this study scrutinises how governance is produced in superintendent’s talk about their relationship with the principal and politics. Delegated steering is supported by two different logics of responsibility and economics. The superintendent’s duties and responsibilities are often emphasised, and reference is made to the chain of command. Responsibility is partially shifted to the principal and/or politicians in certain municipalities. This affects the superintendent’ discretion and has both direct and indirect effects on the education offered by the municipality, ultimately impacting the students as well.

Efficiency and renewability in energy conversion – A system perspective on policy objectives and instruments for climate change mitigation

The use of energy from renewable sources and improved efficiency throughout energy conversion, distribution and end-use are important means for mitigating climate change. This paper provides a novel exploration of the relationship between the system boundary in national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and policy incentives regarding technologies for GHG emission reduction, including the use of biomass, the use of heat from combined heat and power (CHP) production, industry waste heat, and energy recovery of waste. A novel generalisable applied method for applying a system perspective on a policy coherence analysis is another contribution from this paper. Major findings include the discovery that policies largely favour the use of biomass over technologies for energy efficiency, which does not adhere to the EU energy efficiency first principle. Also, although the EU largely promotes CHP production and high-efficiency CHP production, these technologies are largely opposed by Swedish policies. The following theoretical explanations for this are proposed: (1) The use of attributional GHG inventories for geographical areas induces the use of attributional climate policy objectives; and (2) The use of attributional climate policy objectives induces policies largely supporting the domestic use of technologies which potentially improve one’s own climate objective, and largely opposing the domestic use of technologies which potentially worsens one’s own climate objective, irrespective of the impact on global GHG emissions. An expansion of the current study including other policy and geographical areas is suggested for future research to further validate the generalisability of these outlined theoretical explanations. In conclusion, as the reduction of global GHG emissions is crucial for mitigating climate change, a shift from an attributional view in national GHG emission governance towards a consequential view is suggested for better efficacy in global GHG emissions reduction.

Knowledge Claims on Municipalities in the Swedish Labor Market Policy

Knowledge Claims on Municipalities in the Swedish Labor Market Policy

Defining Swedishness: When Swedes Without a Migration Background Are a Local Numerical Minority

In this study, we examine how people without a migration background living in majority–minority neighbourhoods in Malmö, Sweden, define national identity in daily life. This setting provides a look into the intersection between the dominant position these people occupy in the Swedish national context and the confrontation with ethnic diversity as a result of becoming a local numerical minority. We address articulations of what being Swedish means in interviews with 22 Swedes without a migration background. We find that people mostly reproduce the national identity discourse that is nationally dominant. Most people explicitly articulate an achievable national identity, presenting Swedishness as accessible to everyone, in line with how Swedish integration policy is framed, and the current dominant political discourse. However, when talking about Swedishness as an identity and an attribute, the Swedishness of Swedes without a migration background is taken for granted, which indicates that despite changing local hierarchies, the establishment of the Swede without a migration background as the dominant Swede remains unchallenged. Swedishness might be achievable, but only because the dominant Swede defines it as such. Nonetheless, some respondents engage critically and reflectively with their own position of power as the nationally dominant group. This discourse is mostly expressed by raising the issue of white privilege and acknowledging it as a hindrance to the social positioning of people with a migration background in Swedish society. This reflexivity might be a result of confrontation with diversity and becoming a minority.

Facilitators and barriers for creating a sustainable working life for first-generation immigrants – perceptions of multiple stakeholders in Sweden

ABSTRACT Employment is of high priority in the Swedish integration policy, but immigrants are disadvantaged when it comes to pathways into the labour market, and also to stay in the labour market. This study aimed to explore various stakeholders’ perceptions of facilitators and barriers for a sustainable working life among first-generation immigrants and to understand their reasoning regarding how a sustainable working life might be achieved from their perspectives. It is a qualitative study based on seven focus group interviews with participants representing various stakeholders in society. The data were analysed using thematic analysis with an inductive approach. The main theme identified that creating a sustainable working life is a matter that concerns several stakeholders. Aspects related to both society, workplace and the individual have been highlighted in order to promote a sustainable work participation. By increasing collaboration between different stakeholders and providing support to both individuals and workplaces, a sustainable work participation can be facilitated. This study highlights the workplace as an important arena for preparing first-generation immigrants for a sustainable work participation. There is a need to develop supportive solutions to be used at workplaces, formalise long-term support to first-generation immigrants and strengthen the collaboration among involved stakeholders.

Blir du ensam, lille vän?

The lonely ones? Citizenship ideals in Swedish early childhood education policy. The aim of this article is to discuss the democratic function of education by exploring and comparing the citizenship ideals expressed in Swedish early childhood education policy in 1987 and 2018. The study shows that citizenship that was previously foremost emphasizing the horizontal relationship within a community has shifted towards an emphasis on the vertical relationship between the individual and the state. The ideal has thus shifted from a lived citizenship emphasizing community and belonging to citizenship as an individual status based on ownership of rights. The article concludes that the empowerment of children regarding their formal rights in a context characterized by increased focus on individual learning and freedom may contribute to reducing other aspects of democracy such as community, belonging and care, therefore significantly altering the societal task of education.

Drag story hour at public libraries: the reading child and the construction of fear and othering in Swedish cultural policy debate

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to produce new knowledge about the positions that public libraries both take and are given in the conflicts over politics and identity that play out in contemporary cultural and library policy debates. Using conflicts over drag story hour at public libraries as case, the study seeks to contribute to an emerging body of research that delves into the challenges that public libraries as promoters of democracy are confronting in the conflictual political landscape of today.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents an analysis of debates reported in news articles concerning Drag story hour events held at Swedish public libraries. Utilizing the analytical lenses of discourse theory and plural agonistics, the analysis serves to make visible the lines of conflicts drawn in these debates – particularly focusing on the intersection of different meanings ascribed to the notion of the reading child, and how fear is constructed and used as an othering devise in these conflicts.FindingsDifferent imaginings of the reading child and the construction and imagination of fear and safety shapes the Drag story hour debates. The controversies can be understood as a challenge to the previous hegemony regarding the direction and goals of Swedish cultural and library policy and the pluralistic democratic society these policies are meant to promote.Originality/valueThe paper offers new insights into the consequences of the revival of radical right politics, populism and societal polarization, and the different responses from public libraries.

When fairness is an abstraction: equity and AI in Swedish compulsory education

ABSTRACT The paper emphasises the need to consider the social, political, and economic contexts within which educational systems operate and use Artificial Intelligence (AI). Focused on Swedish compulsory education, this study explores whether the use of AI envisioned by national authorities and educational technology companies contributes to unfairness. Through qualitative content analysis of Swedish policy documents and educational company reports, the study employs the concept of Relevant Social Groups to assess how diverse stakeholders perceive the risks and benefits of using AI in education regarding fairness. Three distinct groups are identified, each prioritising different forms of “efficiency” as a key value—economic, pedagogical, and accessibility-related. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the intricate interplay between fairness and the use of AI in the Swedish educational system. It also questions the concept of fairness revolving around formal equality of opportunities that separates fairness from the broader context of social justice.

Comparing gender equality policies in the Swedish and Spanish film industries: Defining the problem beyond the male norm

Gender equality measures are now common in the policies of European film industries and can be an important tool for rendering visible gender inequalities. Recent research, however, indicates that top-down institutional gender mainstreaming might mean better conditions for some women in certain aspects, but structural inequalities tend to remain, including lack of an intersectional approach. In this article, these issues are addressed by analysing gender equality policies currently implemented in the Swedish and Spanish film industries. Following Carole Lee Bacchi’s argument that the way in which a problem is represented must be analysed backwards, by looking at the solutions suggested, we unpack what inequalities gender equality measures render visible and, in so doing, highlight the aspects that remain invisible. We also discuss how such problem representation plays out for women in the film industries of both countries and consider the counter-practices women deploy to cope with continuing gender inequality in the film industries of Spain and Sweden. Our main argument is that Swedish and Spanish gender equality policies, despite having increased the presence of women film workers, still fail to render visible the structural basis of inequalities cemented by androcentric film governance structures and a male norm around which the film industry has been built.

A “watered-down” solution? Deconstructing the ecosystem approach in Swedish policy affecting fisheries management

This study seeks to deconstruct an ecosystem approach in Swedish national policy pertaining to fisheries management, not least because fisheries are integral to the global agenda of improved marine environmental status. The ’ecosystem approach’ is identified across European Union (EU) policy as the pathway for sustainable management of natural resources, due to its ambition to balance a diversity of interests and account for social and ecological interdependencies within and across ecosystems. Yet an ambiguous and inconsistent representation of the ecosystem approach in policy makes it difficult to implement. In EU policy and many other contexts, the ecosystem approach is largely uncontested as the solution for sustainably managing resources yet can lead to unintended material consequences based on how it is implemented. It therefore becomes pertinent to critically analyze what the ‘ecosystem approach’ solution is represented to be across policy calling for its implementation. Using a poststructuralist approach to analyze three of Sweden’s national policy documents pertaining to fisheries, my study finds that the ecosystem approach in these policy documents is ‘watered-down’ in terms of its use as a solution for making fisheries management more sustainable. At a minimum, implementing an ecosystem approach in fisheries requires a consistent definition of what this entails. Yet differences between the documents in terms of whether they assume a systemic approach that accounts for intersectoral impacts, and the extent to which they prioritize industry, people, or nature, makes the implementation of an ecosystem approach in Swedish fisheries management improbable. Should policy pertaining to fisheries in Sweden wish to manage ecosystems sustainably, I suggest it needs to better account for land-sea interactions to incorporate the social and ecological impacts of the fishing sector more strategically.

Can a feminist foreign policy be undone? Reflections from Sweden

Abstract In 2022, Sweden retracted its feminist foreign policy (FFP). What are the consequences for Swedish foreign policy and for FFPs elsewhere? We published an extensive report on the Swedish FFP in 2023, based on a survey that went out to all Swedish diplomats, interviews with more than 30 key foreign policy officials, and hundreds of steering documents from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The article draws out new insights from the report. The retraction is likely to result in a deprioritization of gender equality in Swedish foreign policy. Sweden will likely lose its international leadership role on gender issues. However, FFPs may be more resilient than anticipated because of how foreign policy is governed. Governments that wish to retract FFPs are constrained by three key governance features: First, international agreements and soft law on women's rights place demands on policy content. Second, the decentralized nature of foreign policy implementation allows considerable autonomy on the ground, so that implementors may continue to work with gender equality. Third, longstanding international expectations for Sweden as a gender equality champion create a role-based constraint. These factors contribute to the ‘stickiness’ of FFPs, suggesting that a retraction is unlikely to result in a wholesale abandonment of gender equality activities. The article also examines the enduring legacy of the Swedish FFP beyond its formal retraction, highlighting adoption of FFPs by a growing number of states in different parts of the world.

Unintended Perinatal Health Consequences Associated With a Swedish Family Policy

The 1980 and 1986 Swedish so-called speed premium policies aimed at protecting parents' income-based parental leave benefits for birth intervals shorter than 24 and 30 months, respectively, but indirectly encouraged shorter birth spacing and childbearing at older ages, both risk factors for several perinatal health outcomes. Whether those policy changes are associated with perinatal health remains unknown. To evaluate the association between the 1980 and 1986 speed premium policies and perinatal health outcomes. This cross-sectional study investigated data from 1 762 784 singleton births in the Swedish Medical Birth Register from January 1, 1974, through December 31, 1991. Data were analyzed from October 11, 2022, to December 12, 2023. Speed premium policy introduction (January 1, 1980) and extension (January 1, 1986). Total population register data were used in an interrupted time series analysis with segmented logistic regression to calculate the odds of preterm birth, low birth weight, small for gestational age (SGA) at preterm, and stillbirth measured before and after the speed premium policy reforms. Subgroup analyses by maternal origin were conducted to evaluate changes by different policy responses. Among 1 762 784 births analyzed, 4.8% were preterm (of which 12.0% were SGA), 3.2% had low birth weight, and 0.3% were stillbirths. The 1980 speed premium policy was associated with a 0.3% monthly increase in the odds of preterm birth compared with the period before the reform (odds ratio [OR], 1.0029 [95% CI, 1.002-1.004]), equivalent to a 26.4% increase from January 1, 1980, to December 31, 1985. After the 1986 relaxation of the policy, preterm birth odds decreased 0.5% per month (OR, 0.9951 [95% CI, 0.994-0.996]), equivalent to an 11.1% decrease across the next 6 years. Low birth weight displayed a similar pattern for both reform periods, that is, increased 0.2% (OR, 1.0021; 95% CI, 1.001-1.003) per month in 1980 through 1985 compared with baseline, and decreased 0.3% (OR, 0.9975; 95% CI, 0.996-0.998) per month in the following period, but was attenuated when considering low birth weight at term. Odds of SGA at preterm were decreased after 1980 (OR, 0.9965; 95% CI, 0.994-0.999) but not in 1986 (OR, 1.0009; 95% CI, 0.998-1.003), whereas stillbirths did not change following either reform (1980: OR, 1.0020 [95% CI, 0.999-1.005]; 1986: OR, 1.0002 [95% CI, 0.997-1.003]). Subgroup analyses suggested that perinatal health changes were restricted to births to Swedish- and Nordic-born mothers, the primary groups to adjust their fertility behaviors to the reforms. Despite its economic advantages for couples, especially for mothers, the introduction of the speed premium policy was associated with adverse perinatal health consequences, particularly for preterm births. Family policies should be carefully designed with a "Health in All Policies" lens to avoid possible unintended repercussions for fertility behaviors and, in turn, perinatal health.

Unpacking State Production of Temporal Dispossession: The Intersections of Labour, Asylum and Informalization in Sweden

Using the analytical frame of ‘temporal dispossession’, in the present article, I examine lived experiences of navigating the state production of informalization. This is connected to the increasingly blurred lines between migration regimes and labour market politics in Sweden. With temporary residence permits having become the new norm for asylum policies in Sweden, time and labour market productivity are central to the distribution of vulnerability and life chances, as labour market participation functions as the only means of qualifying for permanent residence. Theoretically engaging with ‘temporal dispossession’ and racial capitalism, I highlight how dispossession operates in and through the border regime, specifically through temporal governance, and how the latter is weaponized to dispossess people of their life chances. Empirically, I focus on how the interlocutors inhabit, negotiate, and defy the precarization of asylum through their labour market participation. Their work, however, is marked by super-exploitation, as they are pushed to the margins of the labour market, often in informalized, underpaid, or unpaid positions with the promise of future employment and stability. The analysis focuses on the strategies of defiance enacted by the interlocutors and their different ways of interrogating contemporary capitalist formation through their experiences of devaluation at the intersection of asylum and labour.

Outsourcing and backsourcing in a time of crisis – experiences of double opportunism

ABSTRACT This article addresses the question of how public organizations with limited capacity manage to handle large scale crises. The case analyzed in this article is the sourcing of accommodation during the migration crisis in Sweden of 2015–2016. The event was a game-changer in Swedish migration policy following a more hesitant policy than before, even though new and substantial migration crisis have followed since then. Results show how the legal framework for procurements was not adapted for extraordinary events. The Swedish state was forced to pay exaggerated prices as private contractors took advantage of the acute demand. The study develops our theoretical understanding of the sourcing process during crises and show how the short-term perspective and uncertainties that characterize crises encourage both suppliers and procurers of services to act opportunistically.

Industrial policy for a circular industrial transition in Sweden: An exploratory analysis

Currently, both the US and the EU are pursuing industrial policies to support climate mitigation objectives. The climate transition will require increased use of material resources, but the envisioned industrial policies do not sufficiently address resource use, despite the current unsustainable global resource-use trajectory. The lack of industrial policy in this field is therefore relevant and timely to address. This exploratory contribution aims to gain an understanding on how an industrial policy for Circular Economy (CE) transition in Sweden could be designed. The methods employed are literature reviews and interviews with 18 senior experts. The research finds that a Swedish industrial policy focusing on the CE transition is needed, together with larger public investments in CE-related technologies. Few existing policy instruments functioning as industrial policy for CE are identified, but many additional instruments could potentially serve this objective. The interviews provide insights into the specific policy needs, the factors determining policy-design, and the choice of sectors and value chains for policies to target. A relevant policy mix includes policy instruments such as green tax shifting, differentiated Value Added Tax, Circular Public Procurement, funding schemes, but also an improved institutional framework. Policy criteria should be based on environmental impact, but also on potential competitive advantages, and close alignment with European Union policies. The study concludes that a policy mix combining new and expanded industrial policy instruments, focusing on correcting market failures, market creation, and capacity-building, can support a circular industrial transition.

Decentralisation versus centralisation in Swedish energy policy: the main challenges and drivers for the energy transition at the regional and local levels

The study presents recent trends in the development of energy policy and energy transition in Sweden. It uses a multi-level governance perspective to examine if decentralisation of this policy has always had a positive impact on the energy transition and what challenges and drivers for the energy transition can be observed in practice. The study is based on a survey addressed to representatives of the regions and municipalities which aims to explore the factors important for undertaking proactive clean energy policy at the regional and local levels. The results of the research confirm that a mix of centralisation and decentralisation together with a clear division of tasks can contribute to the effectiveness of the energy transition. However, the Swedish example also confirms that proper coordination in the multi-level governance system is a huge challenge, in particular when it comes to financial support and consultation.

An alternative pathway to negative emissions – revitalising the wood-based panel production in Sweden

Among different possibilities to mitigate climate change, the utilisation of carbon sinks has rendered increased interest with the emergence of net-zero targets. In Sweden, despite large forest resources, the product category wood-based panels has turned from being a carbon sink to an emission source. Production data and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) accounting approach has been used in this paper to construct the pool of biogenic carbon sequestered in wood-based panels. We used indices to compare this development and found that it is unparalleled in other countries. We show that it is possible to achieve an increased carbon sink in harvested wood products in Sweden and argue that all options producing real and quantifiable carbon sinks should be given opportunities in the regulatory frameworks for climate change mitigation. We conclude that the increased importance of carbon sinks to mitigate climate change justifies a critical discussion of bioenergy policy in Sweden and the rest of Europe. Additionally, we suggest a policy direction that will promote the cascading use of by-products for wood-based panels without proposing a mandated hierarchy of biomass use.

An efficacious remedy for status inequality? Indigenous policies in Norway and Sweden

ABSTRACT Most states publicly support the recognition of Indigenous rights. Nevertheless, their domestic policies to address Indigenous rights issues vary considerably across countries. So far, research has not committed itself to investigating the consequences of different Indigenous policies on the peoples concerned and their social status. Do policy contexts that accommodate Indigenous rights firmly contribute to status equality between Indigenous people and the ethnic majority? I study this question in the case of Norway and Sweden. These countries host one Indigenous people – the Sámi – but pursue diverging Indigenous policies. Using new survey data, I show that, despite the absence of material inequalities, there is a clear gap in the social status perceptions between Indigenous and majority respondents in Sweden. In Norway, I do not find that Sámi’s perception of their social position is lower than the majority's. The results suggest that the Swedish policies governing the recognition of Sámi rights are less effective in resolving unequal status perceptions.

Reducing the gender gap in parental leave through economic incentives? – Evidence from the gender equality bonus in Sweden

Using a regression discontinuity design, I evaluate an internationally unique policy in Sweden that rewarded equal division of parental leave with a cash bonus. The policy caused a small but significant reduction in the difference in days of leave between the parents. But since parent couples responded in different directions depending on the gender of the person with the lower uptake, the average effect on the mother-father difference in uptake was insignificant. Expectedly, given this result, the bonus did not affect average gender differences in earnings or indicators of later childcare responsibility. However, mothers who lowered their uptake of parental leave in response to the bonus displayed positive point estimates with regard to earnings while mothers who increased their uptake displayed negative estimates. This indicates that we cannot rule out a potential link between the length of parental leave and later allocation of time between home and market production. While the bonus did not affect average gender differences in parental leave and earnings, a key finding is that parents’ division of parental leave can be affected by economic incentives, suggesting that better calibrated bonus programs have potential to be useful policy tools.