{
  "title": "Sweden's Welfare State: Can the Bumblebee Keep Flying?",
  "publication": "Books, May 1, 2003",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/books/issues/2016/12/30/sweden-s-welfare-state-can-the-bumblebee-keep-flying-15894",
  "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/books/issues/2016/12/30/sweden-s-welfare-state-can-the-bumblebee-keep-flying-15894",
  "overlayPath": "/en/publications/books/issues/2016/12/30/sweden-s-welfare-state-can-the-bumblebee-keep-flying-15894/index.md",
  "summary": "Sweden has long been viewed as epitomizing a particular approach to economic and social policy. To its advocates, the Swedish welfare state builds on a strong social consensus favoring extensive state intervention to ensure a high quality of life for all Swedes.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Overview",
      "content": "- Sweden is portrayed as epitomizing a welfare-state approach with extensive state intervention aimed at ensuring a high quality of life.\n- Contrasting views:\n  - Advocates: Swedish welfare state builds on a strong social consensus favoring extensive state intervention.\n  - Critics: The system is marked by excessive government intervention and attendant inefficiencies.\n- Metaphor used by Prime Minister Göran Persson: \"Think of a bumblebee. With its overly heavy body and little wings, supposedly it should not be able to fly--but it does.\" The book treats the Swedish welfare state as the bumblebee that has managed to fly.\n- Purpose of the book:\n  - Draws on many years of IMF surveillance and policy advice to explain how the Swedish model has succeeded.\n  - Assesses the challenges the Swedish model faces in the new century.\n  - Proposes a strategy for dealing with those challenges.\n  - Draws lessons for other countries facing similar challenges from globalization and demographics."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key findings and analysis",
      "content": "- The book synthesizes IMF surveillance and policy advice to explain the resilience of the Swedish welfare model.\n- Focus areas reflected in subject keywords:\n  - Corporate income tax; Corporate taxes; Revenue administration; Taxes\n  - Expenditure; General government expenditure\n  - Income; earnings distribution; per capita income; transfer income\n  - Labor; Labor markets; wage; wage dispersion; ICT sector\n  - National accounts; user cost of capital; tax depreciation allowance\n- Geographic and thematic scope in keywords:\n  - Baltics; Europe; Northern Europe; Western Europe; Global; Sweden; report Sweden; BOOK; growth performance"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Challenges identified and strategic policy focus",
      "content": "- Challenges motivating the analysis:\n  - Globalization\n  - Demographics\n- Strategic objectives articulated:\n  - Explain how the Swedish welfare state has operated successfully.\n  - Assess pressures and vulnerabilities in the Swedish model in the 21st century.\n  - Propose policy strategy to address identified challenges.\n  - Extract lessons applicable to other countries facing similar globalization and demographic pressures.\n\n---\n\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/books/issues/2016/12/30/sweden-s-welfare-state-can-the-bumblebee-keep-flying-15894"
    }
  ],
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    "Authors: Subhash Madhav Thakur, Valerie Cerra, Balázs Horváth, Michael Keen",
    "Published: May 1, 2003",
    "Series: Books",
    "DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781589061583.071",
    "Sweden is portrayed as epitomizing a welfare-state approach with extensive state intervention aimed at ensuring a high quality of life.",
    "Contrasting views:",
    "Metaphor used by Prime Minister Göran Persson: \"Think of a bumblebee. With its overly heavy body and little wings, supposedly it should not be able to fly--but it does.\" The book treats the Swedish welfare state as the bumblebee that has managed to fly.",
    "Purpose of the book:",
    "The book synthesizes IMF surveillance and policy advice to explain the resilience of the Swedish welfare model.",
    "Focus areas reflected in subject keywords:",
    "Geographic and thematic scope in keywords:",
    "Challenges motivating the analysis:",
    "Strategic objectives articulated:"
  ],
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