Sweden is an industrialized country. Agriculture, once accounting for nearly all of Sweden's economy, now employs less than 3% of the labor force. Extensive forests, rich iron ore deposits, and hydroelectric power are the natural resources which, through the application of technology and efficient organization, have enabled Sweden to become a leading producing and exporting nation.
Overcoming the 1990s crisis
The Swedish economic picture has brightened significantly since the severe recession in the early 1990s. Growth has been strong in recent years, and even though the economy slackened during the first half of 2001, the long-run prospects for growth remain favorable. The inflation rate is low and stable, with projections for continued low levels over the next 2-3 years. Since the mid-1990s the export sector has been booming, acting as the main engine for economic growth. Swedish exports also have proven to be surprisingly robust. A marked shift in the structure of the exports, where services, the IT industry, and telecommunications have taken over from traditional industries such as steel, paper, and pulp, has made the Swedish export sector less vulnerable to international fluctuations.
Government
The government budget has improved dramatically--from a record deficit of more than 12% of GDP in 1993 to an expected surplus of 8% of GDP in 2001. The new, strict budget process with spending ceilings set by parliament, and a constitutional change to an independent Central Bank, have greatly improved policy credibility. This can be seen in the long-term interest rate margin versus the Euro, which is negligible. From the perspective of longer term fiscal sustainability, the long-awaited reform of old-age pensions entered into force in 1999. This entails a far more robust system vis-ā-vis adverse demographic and economic trends, which should keep the ratio of total pension disbursements to the aggregate wage bill close to 20% in the decades ahead. Taken together, both fiscal consolidation and pension reform have brought public finances back on a sustainable footing. Gross public debt, which jumped from 43%t of GDP in 1990 to 78% in 1994, stabilized around the middle of the 1990s and started to come down again more significantly beginning in 1999. In 2000 it fell below the key level of 60% and had declined to a level of 52% of GDP as of 2004.
Economic and Monetary Union
These figures show a quite remarkable improvement of the Swedish economy since the crisis in 1991-93, so that Sweden could easily qualify for membership in the third phase of the Economic and Monetary Union, making the euro its national currency. In theory, by the rules of the EMU, Sweden is obliged to join, since the country has not obtained exception by any protocol or treaty (as opposed to Denmark and the United Kingdom). Nevertheless, the Swedish government decided in 1997 against joining the common currency from its start on January 1, 1999.
In the first years of the twenty-first century, a majority for joining emerged in the governing Social Democratic party, although the question was subject of heated debate, with leading personalities in the party on both sides. On September 14, 2003, a national referendum was held on the euro. A 55.9 percent majority of Swedes rejected the common currency, while 42.0 percent were in favour of it. Currently no plans for a new referendum or parliamentary vote on the matter are being discussed.
Unemployment
In contrast with most other European countries, Sweden maintained an unemployment rate around 2% or 3% of the work force throughout the 1980s. This was, however, accompanied by high and accelerating inflation. It became evident that such low unemployment rates were not sustainable, and in the severe crisis in the early 1990s the rate increased to more than 8%. In 1996 the government set out a goal of reducing unemployment to 4% by 2000. During 2000 employment rose by 90,000 persons, the greatest increase in 40 years, and the goal was reached in the autumn of 2000. The same autumn the government set out its new target--that 80% of the working age population will have a regular job by 2004. (The present employment ratio is 76%.) Achieving the employment target by 2004, however, will be difficult owing to a high proportion of disability pensioners, persons listed as chronically ill, and students. Some have expressed concern that meeting the employment target may come at a cost of too high a rate of wage increases.
Labor unions
Around eighty percent of the Swedish labor force is unionized. For most unions there is a counterpart employer's organization for businesses. The unions and employer organizations are independent of both the government and political parties, although the largest confederation of unions, the National Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions or LO (organising blue-collar workers), maintains close links to the largest political party, the Social Democrats.
Especially the unionization rate among white-collar workers is exceptionally high in Sweden - almost as high as for blue-collar workers. There are two major confederations organising professionals and other qualified employees: the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (Tjänstemännens Centralorganisation or TCO) and the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations (Sveriges Akademikers Centralorganisation or SACO). They are both independent from Sweden's political parties and never endorse candidates for office in political elections.
There is no fixed minimum wage by legislation. Instead, minimum wages in different sectors are normally set by collective bargaining. Most labor contracts were re-negotiated during 2004, and call for wage increases of around seven percent over a three-year period.
Labor force
The traditionally low-wage differential has increased in recent years as a result of increased flexibility as the role of wage setting at the company level has strengthened somewhat. Still, Swedish unskilled employees are relatively well-paid while well-educated Swedish employees are low-paid compared to those in competitor countries. The average increases in real wages in recent years have been high by historical standards, in large part due to unforeseen price stability. Even so, nominal wages in recent years have been slightly above those in competitor countries. Thus, while private-sector wages rose by an average annual rate of 3.75% from 1998 to 2000 in Sweden, the comparable increase for the EU area was 1.75%. In the year 2000 the total labor force was approx. 4.4 million people.
Figures
| Measure |
Value |
Year |
Place |
Per Capita |
|
GDP
|
$227.4 billion |
2002 est.
|
33rd of 225 |
$25,617.51 |
| |
1973
|
4th of 52 |
$13,494.00 |
|
1950
|
8th of 52 |
$6,738.00 |
|
1900
|
14th of 40 |
$2,561.00 |
|
1820
|
9th of 24 |
$1,198.00 |
|
Exports
|
$80.6 billion |
2002 est. |
21st of 222 |
$9,079.91 |
|
Imports
|
$68.6 billion |
$7,728.06 |
| Budget - revenues |
$119 billion |
2001 est.
|
11th of 218 |
$13,405.82 |
| Budget - expenditures |
$110 billion |
$12,391.94 |
| Debt - external |
$66.5 billion |
1994
|
15th of 192 |
$7,491.49 |
|
Economic freedom
|
1.9 |
2004
|
12th of 156 |
|
Gross Regional Product
See also
- Private
- Government
- Government finance
- Spending
- Agencies, unions
References
Related Articles
External links
Last updated: 08-23-2005 14:16:43
