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- Halleröd, Björn, 1960
(författare)
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Assessment of Implementation of European Commission Recommendation on Active Inclusion : A study of national policies - Sweden
- 2012
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Swedish welfare state, including taxation policies, is based on the idea of activation. The reforms implemented, in particular since 2007, are even more emphasising this underlying feature of the Swedish model. Hence, work is more than ever an entrance ticket to the so-called universalistic Swedish welfare state. The more recent changes of welfare provisions and taxations can briefly be summarized as follow: Job tax deduction, which means that income from work is taxed significantly lower than other types of incomes. Since most social benefits including pensions are taxed, job tax deduction is seen as an important activation measure. Eligibility criteria applied in the income maintenance (social insurance) system has become stricter. Strict deadlines and time limits have been introduced in both sickness benefit and unemployment benefits. The early retirement system has been reformed and is now a part of the sickness insurance system (not the pension system) and renamed to sickness and activation benefit (sjuk- och aktivitetsersättningen). Because of mainly non-decisions the income ceilings, i.e., the maximum benefit, in the social insurance system have been kept more or less constant over time. At same time the average income increase has been substantial. As consequence the system is developing into a flat rate system and the relative income loss most people are experience in case of illness or unemployment is substantial and increasing over time. The national norm for social assistance only increased marginally during the past decade. Hence, the gap between income from social assistance and income from work has increased dramatically. The most serious flaw in the current policy is that the Government, even though the gradually are forced to rethink this position, seem to believe that everyone can, if given enough support and coaching, find an employment (or self-employment). Hence, the Government do not have an integrated policy about how to provide a decent living, including decent incomes, for people that are unable to support themselves via the labour market. The current policy continues to deepen the economic divide between those who are fully integrated at the labour market and those who are excluded from the labour market. The current policy is still largely based on the program that the current coalition partners presented before the 2006 election. Thus, it is hard to point at any major change of direction since 2008. The main policy issues for the coming years are: A) Restoring the universalistic income maintenance principle in the social insurance programs (first and foremost within the unemployment insurance and the sickness benefit program). B) Guaranteeing an adequate income standard also for those who are furthest away from the labour market. C) Prioritize human capital investments among unemployed, in particularly among the long-
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- Halleröd, Björn, 1960, et al.
(författare)
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Country Profile - Sweden Stage 1
- 2014
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Compared to most EU-countries, Sweden has, after the initial shockwave, been relatively mildly affected by the current crisis and apart from the initial phase the economic growth rate has been positive. State debt is low and trade surplus substantial. Employment rates are high in basically all groups except the young. Wages and the households’ disposable incomes have risen, the latter not least because of lowered taxation. There are nevertheless a number of problems that need to be addressed. Despite a series of mainly supply side driven reforms, unemployment remains high. Especially so among the young and among immigrants. There is a long-term trend towards increasing in-risk of poverty rates. The main cause is that people with a marginalized labour market position are lagging behind the full time employed. The reason is that benefits have not kept up with wages increases and substantial changes of the taxation system that benefits income from work. Both the employment cleavages and, as a consequence, income inequality has an age dimension (the young are exposed) and an ethnic dimension (immigrants are exposed). These cleavages are related to a spatial segregation that is most visible in the larger cities and reflected in measures of child poverty and in school results. The Swedish educational system has been subject to substantial reforms during the past couple of decades, the most basic features being decentralization and privatization. During this period we see an increase of children who are not eligible, because of lacking school achievements, to move on to the next step in the educational system. We have also seen rapidly declining results of Swedish students in international comparisons such as PISA. Sweden need to restore replacement rates in the income maintenance system, especially the unemployment insurance (including eligibility criteria), decrease youth unemployment, address housing segregation and develop a long-term strategic plan for restoring the educational system. After the election in September a new coalition government made up by the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party replaced the Centre-Right Government that came into power in 2006. The budget proposal presented by new Government indicates a larger focus on income redistribution, investments in education, and active labour market policy. However, changes are small and it is presently unclear if the parliament will pass the budget.
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- Halleröd, Björn, 1960
(författare)
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Investing in children: breaking the cycle of disadvantage : A study of national policies - Sweden
- 2013
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Compared to most other EU-countries Swedish children are doing relatively well. Sweden has a well-developed integrated family policy providing childcare, schooling, after school care, extensive parental leave and parental benefit and general income support to all families with children. It is an integrated policy that among other things has led to high employment rate among parents, just above 90% among fathers and just below 90% for mothers. The employment rate is also high among single mothers with young children, around 70%. Schools, including school meals are provided for free (upper secondary schools may charge for lunch). All children have the right to highly subsidized childcare and after school care. Thus, the Swedish policy is from an overall perspective fairly well in line with the Commission’s recommendations. So far, the economic crisis has had a limited impact on Sweden and Swedish policies and there are no examples of crisis driven retrenchments that directly affect children, or for that matter other crisis driven retrenchments. Hence, policy changes that do occur are driven by political and ideological considerations, not primarily the crisis. There has been a long term increase of the in risk of poverty rate, caused by the combination of stagnant incomes at the bottom end of the income distribution at the same time as the median income has increased fairly rapidly. The development can be understood as an increasing income inequality between those fully integrated in the labour market and those with a marginal labour market situation. As a result the in risk of poverty rate among children has increased, especially so among single adult households with children even though these figures should be interpreted with some care as shared custody is the norm among parents that divorced/separated. There is also an alarming ethnical divide. Save the Children’s annual report on child poverty show that in households where both parents have immigrated almost 37% of the children were economically vulnerable, i.e. fell under the 1985 standard for social assistance and/or lived in a household that received social assistance. The corresponding figure for children with an immigrated parent living in a single adult household was 50%. The difference in living conditions between children of native born parents and children of immigrated parents is related to spatial segregation that is clearly visible in the larger cities. It is also reflected in school achievements. Among children with both parents born in Sweden 91% are eligible for upper secondary schooling after finishing compulsory school. Among children with at least one immigrated parent the figure is 76%. Thus, there is a high risk of intra-generational transmission of poverty that will reproduce a combination of socioeconomic and ethnical inequalities. Child poverty and social exclusion among children (and adults) are hardly mentioned in the Swedish NRP. There are nevertheless a number of areas where the Swedish Government ought to take action:
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