Sweden is continuing to reap the rewards of this mixture of fiscal rectitude and pro-market reforms. GDP is projected to grow by 1.8% to 1.9% this year; headline inflation stands at 1.5%; debt-to-GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the world, at just above 35%. There are some flies in this ointment, of course:…
Adrian Wooldridge on Sweden and liberalism
Adrian Wooldridge on Sweden and liberalism
20 Jun 2026 Leave a comment
in economic growth, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics Tags: Sweden
The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Sweden, Part IV
23 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, international economics, macroeconomics, public economics Tags: Sweden
I don’t often claim to be ahead of the curve, but I’m going to pat myself on the back in today’s column about Swedish economic policy. More than 16 years ago, I started writing about Sweden’s shift from statism to markets. More than 14 years ago, I praised Swedish policy makers for significantly reducing the […]
The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Sweden, Part IV
The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Sweden, Part III
10 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, Public Choice, public economics Tags: Sweden
Based on a video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity back in 2010, as well a video from Johan Norberg I shared in 2016, there’s a lot to learn by looking at Swedish economic history. Here’s a more recent video that also looks at that nation’s economic track record. You’ll notice a similar message […]
The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Sweden, Part III
Predistribution, Not Redistribution, in the Nordic Countries
15 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economics of education, fiscal policy, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden
Maybe it’s just because I live in Minnesota, a state where the differences between immigrants from Sweden, Norway, and Finland are still apparent in the names of towns and the surnames of people. But when I run into people who would prefer that the US distribution of income be more equal, they often point to…
Predistribution, Not Redistribution, in the Nordic Countries
Scandinavian Governments Are Greedy, not Socialist
27 Dec 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, entrepreneurship, fiscal policy, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: Denmark, Norway, social insurance, Sweden, taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
Scandinavian nations are not socialist, at least if we’re using the technical definition (government ownership, central planning, and price controls). But those countries do have big welfare states. And that means stifling tax burdens. And those harsh taxes don’t just apply to rich taxpayers. Lower-income and middle-class people also get pillaged. I’ve already explained that punitive value-added […]
Scandinavian Governments Are Greedy, not Socialist
102 murders in Sweden by children
12 Dec 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order, Sweden
There were 102 murders in Sweden in the last eight months, allegedly committed by children aged 14 or younger. That is a shocking number. Why is it so high. Well in Sweden the age of criminal responsibility is 15. So if you kill someone and are 14 or younger, you can’t be prosecuted. So the […]
102 murders in Sweden by children
Lets switch sides!!-Dagen H: Sweden’s Historic Switch to Right-Hand Traffic
03 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history, transport economics Tags: Sweden
“Dagen H,” or “H Day,” stands for “Högertrafikomläggningen” in Swedish, meaning “The right-hand traffic diversion.” This term refers to one of the most significant and carefully planned transportation changes in Sweden’s history: the switch from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right. On September 3, 1967, Sweden made this monumental change, […]
Lets switch sides!!-Dagen H: Sweden’s Historic Switch to Right-Hand Traffic
The Pandemic and Swedish Fiscal Policy
21 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, fiscal policy, health economics, macroeconomics, public economics Tags: economics of pandemics, Sweden
When I wrote about long-run policy lessons from the pandemic, I mostly focused on the incompetence of the bureaucrats at the FDA and CDC. I also wrote that Sweden had a very sensible approach. Politicians did not panic. They advised prudence, but kept schools open and did not mandate lockdowns. Interestingly, Sweden also had better […]
The Pandemic and Swedish Fiscal Policy
100 Years of Rent Control in Sweden
17 Mar 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, income redistribution, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: rent control, Sweden
Bet On It reader Vanja Månborg knows a lot about rent control in Sweden. If you think Sweden is a country of thoughtful technocrats where government intervention works well, reading his guest post may make you think again. Here’s Vanja:Sweden has had rent control regulations since 1917 with less than two decades of pause between…
100 Years of Rent Control in Sweden
How Socialist is Sweden?
19 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in income redistribution, labour economics, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: Sweden
During our Capitalism versus Socialism debate, Scott Sehon argued that Scandinavia really is quite socialist. Since I’m not on expect on Scandinavia, I asked Johan Norberg, author of the short book The Mirage of Swedish Socialism, as well as the recent The Capitalist Manifesto, to weigh in. Norberg kindly agreed. With great interest I have…
How Socialist is Sweden?
Reflections on the TCU Capitalism versus Socialism Debate
08 Nov 2023 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, growth disasters, growth miracles, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, libertarianism, Marxist economics, poverty and inequality, privatisation, property rights, Public Choice, public economics Tags: economics of socialism, Sweden
Two days ago at Texas Christian University, I debated Scott Sehon, chair of Bowdoin College’s Philosophy Department, on Capitalism versus Socialism. (Video forthcoming eventually). My opening statement was a slight variation on the one I wrote for an earlier debate on the same topic with Elizabeth Bruenig. Sehon’s opening statement was adapted from his Socialism:…
Reflections on the TCU Capitalism versus Socialism Debate
Why Sweden Isn’t an Example of Socialism
04 Oct 2023 Leave a comment
in economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, labour economics, macroeconomics, welfare reform Tags: Sweden
When I meet Americans who self-identify as “socialists,” it is quite uncommon for them to advocate the abolition of private property and the “collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods”–which is the dictionary definition of socialism. Instead most of the American “socialists” I meet favor a more…
Why Sweden Isn’t an Example of Socialism
WHAT DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM DOES TO ECONOMIC PROSPERITY
24 Dec 2022 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, economic growth, economic history, economics of education, entrepreneurship, fiscal policy, growth disasters, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, liberalism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, public economics Tags: Sweden
Why did Sweden and Norway Break Up?
16 Nov 2021 Leave a comment
in economic history, International law, war and peace Tags: Denmark, Norway, Sweden
Lee Ohanian on Sweden’s Experiment with Socialism
26 Oct 2021 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economic history, economics of education, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, human capital, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, poverty and inequality, property rights, Public Choice, survivor principle Tags: Sweden
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