Dignity and the Burden of the Welfare State

The burden of the welfare state may be analysed from an economic as well as a more normative perspective. This paper attempts to do both things. By the use of the case of Sweden the expansion and the costs of the welfare state is described, partly in international comparison, and explained, largely in terms of unintended consequences. Special attention is given to the effects of taxes. Next, the concept of dignity is explicated and used to evaluate the Swedish welfare state. The overall conclusion is that the burden of the welfare state is high indeed, both in economic terms and from the perspective of human dignity. Consequently, if we want to promote economic efficiency, growth and dignity the size of the state should be radically decreased.welfare state; taxes; efficiency; welfare; dignity

Constitutionalism, Division of Power and Transaction Costs

According to many democracy theorists, there is an unavoidable trade-off between constitutionalism and the need for political action. This paper criticizes that belief. Rather, it argues that a division of power, while sometimes entailing high political transaction costs, can nevertheless be beneficial and that it is not necessarily the case that a division of power does entail high transaction costs. The analysis expands the framework of Buchanan and Tullock (1962). Constitutionalism is thus defended against one of its main perceived deficiencies: its bringing about gridlock. This does not always happen, and when it does, it is often a good thing.Political transaction costs; Constitutionalism; Political institutions; Division of power; Quality of political decision-making

The Decentralization of Wage Bargaining: Four Cases

The paper contributes to the discussion about the possible trends and processes towards decentralization of wage bargaining or wage setting within the OECD-countries since the 1970s. Based on a data set of 16 OECD countries from 1950 to 2000 our results show that in terms of bargaining level the trend is clear towards decentralization since the 1970s, even though there are important exceptions. In terms of confederal involvement the major decrease occurs among the Nordic countries and the Netherlands, whereas many of the other countries have had a status quo more or less. In terms of government involvement, however, the change is the almost non-existent. The overall tendency is still towards less centralisation, even though a number of countries have not changed or have moved in the opposite direction. Sweden, Denmark, UK and the Netherlands experience the largest decreases in decentralization overall. The processes of decentralization of wage bargaining look very differently in each country. It may occur through changes in the collective agreements themselves or through individual wage-setting outside the system of collective agreements. And the decentralization process may occur both in a context of cooperation between the labor-market organizations or in a setting of conflicts.Wage bargaining; wage setting; collective agreements; centralization; decentralization; labour market models; OECD

Vad bör staten göra? En fråga om värdighet

Uppsatsen analyserar den fundamentala, normativa frågan om statens roll i ett gott samhälle. Efter att först gått igenom sedvanliga effektivitetsargument utvärderas statens åtaganden utifrån kriteriet mänsklig värdighet. I analysen, som utgår ifrån en bred tradition inom klassisk humanism, liberalism och svensk folkrörelsetradition, definieras värdighet som individens aktiva ansvarstagande för det egna livsprojektet, med ömsesidig respekt för andras frihet att göra detsamma. Slutsatsen är att staten har en distinkt och konstruktiv roll, men att det bör finnas en tydlig övre gräns för skatter och andra ingrepp.statens roll; välfärdsstaten; skatter; värdighet; autonomi; goda samhället

Äganderättens tre grundläggande dimensioner

Uppsatsen analyserar äganderättsbegreppet och definierar äganderätt som ett knippe av rättigheter där de viktigaste ingående rättigheterna är följande: användarfrihet – rätt att fritt nyttja och besluta över egendomen efter eget gottfinnande, inklusive rätt till den avkastning som egendomen genererar; avtalsfrihet – rätt att fritt överföra rättigheter, helt eller delvis, exempelvis genom köp eller hyra; samt rätt till säkerhet – rätt till skydd mot stöld, intrång, skadegörelse, konfiskation, etc. Dessutom diskuteras äganderättens viktigaste konsekvenser, nämligen marknadsekonomin och den ekonomiska utveckling som denna åstadkommer, samt följderna av att begränsa äganderätten.äganderätt; avtalsfrihet; användarfrihet; Coase

Offentlig avveckling

Uppsatsen analyserar ur ett marknadsperspektiv de förändringar av den offentliga sektorns legala monopol som har skett under det senaste decenniet. Särskilt ”privatiseringar” av typen entreprenader och checksystem diskuteras. Slutsatsen är att avsaknaden av fria konsumentval, etableringsfrihet och fri prissättning leder såväl till bristande lyhördhet för konsumenternas behov som till otillräcklig kvalitet och förnyelseförmåga. Rekommendationen är att dessa verksamheter bör ses om en entreprenörsmöjlighet snarare än som ett kostnadsproblem.privatisering; avreglering; legala monopol; konkurrens

Generality, State Neutrality and Unemployment in the OECD

According to Buchanan and Congleton (1998), the generality principle in politics blocks special interests. Consequently, the generality principle should thereby promote economic efficiency. This study tests this hypothesis on wage formation and labor markets, by investigating whether generality defined as state neutrality could explain employment performance among OECD countries during 1970-2003. We identify three types of non-neutrality as concerns unemployment: the level or degree of government interference in the wage bargaining process over and above legislation which facilitate mutually beneficial wage agreements, the constrained bargaining range (meaning the extent to which the state favors or blocks certain outcomes of the bargaining process), and the cost shifting (which relates to state interference shifting the direct or indirect burden of costs facing the parties on the labor market). Our overall hypothesis is that nonneutrality or non-generality increases unemployment rates. The empirical results from the general conditional model suggest that government intervention and a constrained bargaining range clearly increase unemployment, while a few of the cost shifting variables have unexpected effects. The findings thus give some, but not unqualified, support for the generality principle as a method to promote economic efficiency.generality; state neutrality; efficiency; unemployment; wage bargaining; cost shifting; OECD

Corporate cartels and challenges to European labour market models

We propose that one of the main causes of shortcomings in European labour markets is the existence of corporate cartels, through which the state has delegated various forms of regulatory power to employers and employees that act as cartels. Analysis indicates that these cartel arrangements are not in the interest of labour because they are hard to combine with the demands of a modern and knowledge-based economy. Hence, a modernization of European labour market models is needed

Den svenska tillväxtskolan

Den svenska tillväxtskolan, som här för första gången ges en samlad presentation, är en unik svensk nationalekonomisk skolbildning, med Erik Dahmén som den mest kände företrädaren. Denna tradition betonar att ekonomisk tillväxt är en evolutionär process där entreprenörskap och innovationer spelar en central roll. Ekonomisk utveckling sker inom ramen för breda utvecklings- och kompetensblock, där det nya utmanar det gamla i en process av kreativ förstörelse. I uppsatsen presenteras de bärande idéerna inom denna skolbildning. Dessutom relateras kortfattat den svenska tillväxtskolans synsätt till traditionell nationalekonomi.The Swedish Growth School; Erik Dahmén; Development Blocks; Competence Blocs; The Experimentally Organized Economy; Institutional Blocs

Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy? – a critique of the entrepreneurial state

This paper takes stock of recent suggestions that the state apparatus is a central and underappreciated actor in the generation, diffusion and exploitation of innovations enhancing growth and social welfare. We contrast such a view of “the entrepreneurial state” with theories and empirical evidence of the microeconomic processes of innovation in the modern economy which focus on well-functioning markets, free entry and competition among firms, and independent entrepreneurship as central mechanisms in the creation and dissemination of innovations. In doing so, we identify several deficiencies in the notion of an entrepreneurial state by showing that (i) there is weak empirical support in the many hundreds empirical studies and related meta analyses evaluating the effectiveness of active industrial and innovative policies, that (ii) these policies do not take account of the presence of information and incentive problems which together explain why attempts to address purported market failures often result in policy failures, and that (iii) the exclusive focus on knowledge creation through R&D and different forms of firm subsidies ignores the equally important mechanisms of knowledge dissemination and creation through commercial exploitation in markets. We discuss how a more theoretically well-founded focus on the state as investing in knowledge generation and securing the conditions of free and competitive markets will lead to a more innovative economy