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- Eckerberg, Katarina, Professor emerita, 1953-, et al.
(author)
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The Nature of Rural Development : The Case of Sweden
- 2001
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This is a scoping study in a project initiated by WWF1 and partners into the nature of rural development in Europe. The project analyses rural development policies and practices in a range of countries with a view to developing a more robust model for sustainable, integrated rural development in the European Union. The scoping study has been supported by WWF and the British countryside agencies and undertaken by IEEP3, CRE4 and a consortium of independent consultants in 10 different European countries, over the period May to December 2000. The countries chosen include 6 EU Member States (Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, UK), 3 accession countries (Hungary, Latvia, Poland) and Switzerland, which has pursuedits own approach outside the EU. The aim of this study has been to investigate actors, institutions and attitudes towards rural development, in order to help clarify key issues in working towards sustainability. It has started with a broad list of potential areas of interest, as follows:The driving forces for rural changeInstitutions and institutional arrangements for rural developmentNational perspectives on rural development principles and policiesThe role of the environment in rural development policies and outcomesThe role of social values (participation, equity, etc) in rural developmentThe resourcing of rural development policyThe role of the urban–rural interfaceAccountability versus flexibility and innovation, in policy delivery
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- Feltenius, David, 1974-, et al.
(author)
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Abolishing the Act on System of Choice in Swedish eldercare : on arguments and replacements in the municipalities
- 2024
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In: International Journal of Public Sector Management. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 0951-3558 .- 1758-6666. ; 37:2, s. 141-158
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: Since 2009 Swedish municipalities may apply the Act on System of Choice (LOV) in, among other things, eldercare. About half of the 290 Swedish municipalities have chosen this within home-care services for older citizens, thus creating conditions for a welfare mix where private and public providers compete. Some of these municipalities later made decisions to abolish LOV. This article aims to analyse the arguments put forward by municipal politicians to abolish LOV and discusses if the case of abandoning LOV represents a case of re-municipalization.Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative method was used to analyse decision protocols and media materials from 20 Swedish municipalities that had abolished LOV in home-care services.Findings: The article shows that politics and ideology seem to have only a limited significance in abolishing LOV. The most important arguments found in the empirical materials were instead pragmatic and related to the transaction costs: in smaller municipalities about the weak position of private providers and in larger municipalities about reported cases of welfare crime and extensive needs to control and review. In smaller municipalities, LOV was replaced by public monopoly and in larger municipalities by other types of procurements.Originality/value: With its focus on eldercare in party-dominated municipalities, the article adds knowledge to the literature on drivers of re-municipalization but also discusses possible delimitations of the concept of re-municipalization.
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- Feltenius, David, 1974-, et al.
(author)
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Approaching the private model? : The public provider in the marketized Swedish elderly care
- 2024
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In: Nordic Social Work Research. - : Routledge. - 2156-857X .- 2156-8588.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article investigates the public provider of home-care services in Swedish municipalities with user choice. Since the introduction of the Act on Systems of Choice (LOV) in 2009, older citizens have been able to choose their providers for home-care services. Accordingly, in many municipalities, a mix of public and private home-care providers has emerged. We analyse the public provider’s course of action in this competition. We assume that it may be categorized as either ‘convergence’ or ‘divergence’ in relation to the idea of a private firm. ‘Convergence’ means that the public provider attempts to imitate the private firm, while ‘divergence’ refers to efforts to distinguish itself from the private firm. We conducted an empirical study of the public provider of home-care services in six Swedish municipalities considering the following aspects of its operations: organization, designation and graphic design, profiling of services, and marketing. The main materials used consist of in-depth interviews with municipal politicians and officers as well as unit managers for the public provider. The results provide support primarily for the scenario of ‘divergence’ since there is limited evidence of the public provider imitating the idea of the private firm. Hence, the dominant picture leans towards ‘divergence’, but to some extent, a course of action in terms of ‘convergence’ is also apparent. Based on the result we discuss how public providers react to the context of marketization and the challenge to key values in public administration.
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- Feltenius, David, 1974-, et al.
(author)
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Business as usual? : Civil society organizations in a marketized Swedish welfare state
- 2019
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In: Journal of Civil Society. - : Routledge. - 1744-8689 .- 1744-8697. ; 15:3, s. 230-248
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article aims to examine the participation of pensioners’ organizations in a context of marketization within local elderly care. The literature on New Public Management (NPM) points out different views on the effects of marketization on the participation of civil society organizations within the decision-making process. One view states marketization implies less of participation by civil society organizations since this stands in conflict with inherent values of NPM, such as efficiency and the citizen as customer on a market. An opposite view states that marketization does not cause this effect, i.e., civil society organizations participate in the same manner as before. The empirical investigation consists of results from a questionnaire sent out to pensioners’ organizations in Swedish municipalities with a marketized elderly care. The main result is that marketization does not cause any major crowding out effect on civil society organizations from the decision-making process. However, according to the survey, there exists a variation in this respect – participation varies between municipalities.
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- Feltenius, David, 1974-, et al.
(author)
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Conservation or disappearance? The public provider of home care services in a system of choice
- 2023
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In: Public Management Review. - : Routledge. - 1471-9037 .- 1471-9045. ; 25:1, s. 63-83
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article aims to analyse the position of the public provider (i.e. share of recipients) of home-care services in Swedish municipalities with marketization: a system of choice. Following the literature, an assumption is that the public provider has difficulties in surviving the competition with private home-care providers. In addition, the relevancy of this assumption could differ between different municipal settings. To test this assumption, we use statistical analysis. The main result is that the public provider is a 'strong player' in most municipalities experiencing marketization. However, there exists a variation in this respect – the position varies between municipalities.
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- Feltenius, David, 1974-, et al.
(author)
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Deltagardemokrati eller affärsangelägenhet? : Om kollektivt deltagande i en marknadiserad äldreomsorg
- 2015
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In: Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift. - : Fahlbeckska stiftelsen. - 0039-0747. ; 117:4, s. 95-123
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article aims to examine participation and influence of pensioners’ organizations in a context of marketization within local elderly care. The literature on New Public Management (NPM) points out different views on the effects of marketization on the participation of organized interests within the decision-making process. One view states marketization implies less of participation by organized interests since this stands in conflict with inherent values of NPM, such as efficiency and the citizen as customer on a market. An opposite view states that marketization does not cause this effect, i.e., organized interests participate in the same manner as before. The empirical investigation consists of interviews and official documents from four Swedish municipalities with a marketized elderly care. The result is that marketization does not cause any major crowding out effect on organized interests from the decision-making process. However, concerns can be raised about the extent and quality of participation since procedures of contracting out are not always compatible with democratic values such as transparency and participation.
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- Feltenius, David, 1974-, et al.
(author)
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”Kunden i fokus!” – om den kommunala hemtjänstens presentation av verksamheten i en marknadiserad äldreomsorg
- 2022
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In: Nordisk Administrativt Tidsskrift. - : Universitetsbiblioteket OsloMet. - 0029-1285 .- 2246-1310. ; 99:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Drygt hälften av de svenska kommunerna har infört valfrihet inom hemtjänst baserat på lagen om valfrihetssystem (LOV). Detta valfrihetssystem mynnar ut i en ”välfärdsmix” i kommunerna, där offentliga och privata utförare konkurrerar med varandra. I artikeln undersöks hur den offentliga utföraren av hemtjänst presenterar sin verksamhet i en kontext av LOV och marknadisering. Tillämpas tillvägagångssätt mot ”konvergens” eller ”divergens” i förhållande till idén om det privata företaget? Med ”konvergens” avses att den offentliga utföraren försöker efterlikna det privata företaget i presentationen av sin verksamhet, medan ”divergens” istället avser att den offentliga utföraren för fram skillnader. Den empiriska studien består av en riktad innehållsanalys och omfattar 106 LOV-kommuner som presenterat den offentliga hemtjänstutföraren på kommunens hemsida. Studiens övergripande slutsats är att det dominerande tillvägagångssättet handlar om divergens, kryddat med inslag av konvergens. I den offentliga utförarens presentationer betonas exempelvis det kommunala ägandet samt kommunernas erfarenhet av att bedriva hemtjänst. Samtidigt förekommer företagsinspirerade inslag, som användandet av begreppet ”kund”. Studiens resultat placeras in i en övergripande diskussion om hur offentliga utförare utvecklas i en kontext av marknadisering. Att offentlig verksamhet okritiskt ”importerar” tillvägagångssätt från privata företag kan utmana centrala värden i förvaltningen, som öppenhet, saklighet, universalism och följsamhet till den demokratiska styrningskedjan.
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