| 86941. |
- Larsson, Bengt, 1966, et al.
(författare)
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Accounting for personal overindebtedness: Debtors’ accounts in applications for debt relief at the Swedish Enforcement Agency
- 2011
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Ingår i: 10th Conference of the European Sociological Association.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- While the Swedish economy is recovering fast from the financial crisis of 2008-9, many households are still in severe and increasing debt problems, not least because of credit driven private consumption. Even though the increase of overindebted persons is coming to a halt at app. 5 % of the population, the number of applications to the Swedish Enforcement Agency for debt release is still increasing (appr 1 %). This paper is part of a project studying the process of debt relief/adjustment in Sweden and analyses 60 such applications. The aim is to describe and understand the accounts given in these applications in relation to the “question situation” that the over-indebted person stands before in their encounters with the authorities. The analysis is based on the sociology of accounts and is made against the background of previous research on the experiences of personal overindebtedness in the Nordic countries. The paper show that the accounts given by debtors include some few examples of “refusals” and “denials”, but mainly comprise of narratives and accounts centred around giving “justifications” and “excuses”, focusing on external circumstances (illness, unemployment, divorce, bankruptcy) helplessness, or a lack of knowledge or intent (others causing the debt or problems of addiction). The applications also contain “concessions”, “pledges” and “appeals” by which the debtors are trying to show that they are improving in taking economic responsibility and deserving a debt relief. The analysis thereby shows which accounts are considered being legitimate, both by the debtors and by the municipal budget- and debt advisers that are to help debtors in applying for debt relief. In addition, the analysis shows that the accounts and narratives given by the debtors often go far beyond what they are asked to explain by the Enforcement Agency, thus indicating that debtors have difficulty in bracketing explanations and accounts produced to acquire social and moral acceptance and re-establishment.
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| 86942. |
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| 86943. |
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| 86944. |
- Larsson, Bengt
(författare)
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Auditor Regulation and Economic Crime Policy in Sweden, 1965–2000
- 2005
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Ingår i: Accounting, Organizations and Society. - : Elsevier. - 0361-3682 .- 1873-6289. ; 30:2, s. 127-144
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper analyzes the political and professional battle over auditors' crime-controlling responsibilities in Sweden. The focus is on the discursive strategies of major actor-constellations during 1965–2000. The conclusion is that the duty enacted in 1999 to report suspicions of crime, like earlier attempts in this direction, was not a reaction to major frauds or scandals but a part of broader social-democratic policies during the period: to develop industrial democracy, to fight economic crime, and to improve economic markets.
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| 86945. |
- Larsson, Bengt, 1966
(författare)
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Bankkrisen, medierna och politiken. Offentliga tolkningar och reaktioner på 90-talets bankkris : The Swedish Banking Crisis, the Media and Policy. Public Interpretations and Reactions to the Banking Crisis in the 1990s.
- 2001
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation is a case srudy of the Swedish banking crisis in the early 1990s. It also treats general theoretical questions of the relation berween the economy and society. The aim of the srudy is ro give an account of interpretations of the banking crisis in public discourse, and of the societal attempts to steer the credit market by way of public opinion, political-administrative and legal means. The dissertation is divided inro rwo parts, corresponding ro the rwo aims. The focus of the first part is on interpretive disagreements over crisis-definitions, causal explanations and policy-packages. The account is based on a compurer-aided qualitative analysis of342 edirorials/articles published during 1990-1995, supplemented with secondary sources. The main conclusion is that five competing interpretive packages dominated the public debate. In the beginning the scope of the crisis and the critique against the banks were rejected in a downgradingpackage and a defencepackage, advocated by the aurhorities, experts and the banks. These packages were later replaced by a market-critical fairness/ moralpackage and rwo variants of a market-advocating efficiency/functionalpackage. Advocates of the former were acrors from the politicalleft, framing problems, causal eXplanations, and policy recommendations in resonance with traditional social democratic policy and radical political economy. Behind the larrer srood the political centre-right politicians/ edirors, the banks, and economists, framing their interpretations in resonance with neoclassical economics and political neoliberalism. The focus of the second part is on the reactions ro the crisis among the public and the cusromers, and within the administrative, legal and political systems. The analysis is based on media documents, survey data, official reports and commirree reports from the Swedish parliament. In conclusion, the reactions in the political system corresponded to the antagonisms of the debate, with the centre-right parties advocating a pro-market policy in conflict with a more interventionist stance from the radicalleft and green parties, and with the social democrats in the middle. The public reaction comprised a loss of confidence and an increase in consumer organisation, and the media representations of public opinion were articulated mainly through the market-critical stance with strong political and moral indignation due ro a lack of adequate administrative and legal sanctions against the banks. The analysis also confirmed that the legal processes met with considerable difficulties, which gave rise ro "legal-offensive" claims from politicians and aurhorities. These were met, however, by more "defensive" claims from the official commission investigating the legal framework of the credit market, advocating a system of enforced and supervised self-regulation. A central conclusion was that the conflicts concerned not only the political dimension leftright, but also the opposition berween system-inregrative functional perspectives and those represenring claims based on the social-integrative principles of the "life world" (morals and solidarity).
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| 86946. |
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| 86947. |
- Larsson, Bengt, 1966-
(författare)
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Becoming a winner but staying the same : identities and consumption of lottery winners
- 2011
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Ingår i: The American journal of economics and sociology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0002-9246 .- 1536-7150. ; 70:1, s. 187-209
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article discusses how large lottery winnings are experienced and used by the winners. The study draws on a survey of 420 Swedish winners, which is analyzed against the background of previous research from the USA and Europe. The analyses show that winners are cautious about realizing any dreams of becoming someone else somewhere else. This result contradicts theories suggesting that identities are being liquefied by the commercially driven consumer culture in affluent Western societies. In contrast, the article concludes that winners generally try to stay much the same, but on a somewhat higher level of consumption. The critical situation that large winnings produce is generally met by an attempt to hold on to one’s identity and social relations. In addition, the article shows that lump sum winners tend to save and invest large parts of their winnings, compared with winners of monthly installments who are more likely to spend on leisure and consumption. These results indicate that “wild” lump sums make winners “tame” their winnings more firmly, whereas “domesticated” monthly instalments can be spent more thoughtlessly without changing identity or becoming an unfortunate winner.
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| 86948. |
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| 86949. |
- Larsson, Bengt, 1966-, et al.
(författare)
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Bringing environmentalism home : Children’s influence on family consumption in the Nordic countries and beyond
- 2010
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Ingår i: Childhood. - : Sage Publications. - 0907-5682 .- 1461-7013. ; 17:1, s. 129-147
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article discusses children as contributors to sustainable ecological development. The aim of the article is to develop a framework for researching two questions: What are the prerequisites for children to become responsible environmentalists? What actual and potential influence do children have on their family’s consumption? Three theoretical perspectives are elaborated in relation to relevant empirical research: children as cosmopolitan actors and world citizens, children as ‘subjects of responsibilization’ in relation to the discourse on sustainable development and children as actors influencing family negotiations about consumption. The article concludes by suggesting methodological implications that follow from this framework.
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| 86950. |
- Larsson, Bengt, 1966
(författare)
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Capitalism
- 2010
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Ingår i: Acta Sociologica. ; 53:1, s. 85-87
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Recension (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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