Income Security Programs and Retirement in Sweden

We examine the effects of economic incentives inherent in pension schemes and income security programs on retirement behavior in the Swedish labor market. We use social security wealth and three alternative measures of accrual (one-year benefit accrual, peak value and option value). The social security system, occupational pensions as well as insurance on the labor market, i.e., unemployment, sickness and disability insurance are considered. We estimate a model using panel data on about 30 000 men and women born between 1927 and 1940, observed between 1983 and 1997. The model is then used to simulate the effects of two alternative systems: one where eligibility for benefits in the prevailing system is delayed by three years and another where replacement levels are reduced.benefit accrual; peak value; option value; disability insurance

Disability Insurance, Population Health and Employment in Sweden

This paper describes the development of population health and disability insurance utilization for older workers in Sweden and analyses the relation between the two. We use three different measures of population health: (1) the mortality rate (measured between 1950 and 2009); (2) the prevalence of different types of health deficiencies obtained from Statistics Sweden’s Survey on Living Conditions (ULF, 1975-2005); (3) the utilization of health care from the inpatient register (1968–2008). We also study the development of the relative health between disability insurance recipients and non-recipients. Finally, we study the effect of the introduction of less strict eligibility criteria for older workers in 1970 and 1972 as well as the subsequent abolishment of these rules in 1991 and 1997, respectively.Disability insurance; Population health

Transforming the Mediasphere : Sweden, A Case Study of Conflicting Discourses in Socialist and Capitalist Broadcasting Values

Sweden has undergone major changes in its mediasphere during the last twelve years, during which two oppositional forces have been particularly at work, capitalist and socialist. Goth those forces have influenced the direction in which the national mediasphere is transforming. The challenges of these political discourses, and responses from the parties involved regarding the role of the media in society, has been increasingly visible since the late 1950s, when the public service monopoly was first called into question. The Swedish socialist government has promoted and protected its non - commercial public service monopoly, through which they could mould national identity and distribute culture and enlightenment to all Swedish citizens. The public service broadcaster, although \u27independent\u27, has been closely tied to and monitored by the state, which has put society, education, seriousness, discussion on social and political issues and non- commercialism at the top of its public broadcasting agenda. With the threat to the public service monopoly and to the security of control, there has been considerable cultural, economical, political and social debate in and between various national organisations. The discourses surrounding these issues have been especially prominent during the last decade, at a time when the nature of the Swedish mediasphere has changed radically. As transnational commercial broadcasters began finding their way into the Swedish market, the socialist government faced, on one hand, pressure to respond to increasing market forces. On the other hand, pressure also arose regarding the protection and strengthening of the public service broadcaster (Weibull & Severinsson, in Negrine, 1988, p. 85). Through the public broadcaster, the transnational commercial broadcasters, and the political discourses regarding them both, I will create a picture of the Swedish mediasphere and analyse the cultural, political, social and economic policy - making by the governing parties. I will also analyse the \u27desired\u27 outcomes of the oppositional forces in question. In this dissertation, I will argue that what started out as cultural concerns relating to increasing capitalist imperialism within the field of broadcasting, has led to the consideration of other issues as well, regarding the discussion of political and economical sovereignty. Also involved is the \u27perceived\u27 necessity of technological innovation, mainly in response to the necessity to protect the \u27threatened\u27 Swedish cultural beliefs, values and traditions. These discourses have arisen mostly in response to the intensification of globalising forces, where people, goods and services flow more freely and are tied increasingly closer together. During cultural debates on protection from the \u27negative\u27 influences reaching Sweden as a result of transnational corporations, technological development has become an even more important part of Swedish policy- making. As will be argued, two main beliefs regarding technology have arisen. Firstly, a governing belief in technology as \u27neutral\u27 can be observed, and secondly, a promise of technological \u27salvation\u27 seems to have developed among the governing parties, and especially in the socialist one. The material used in this dissertation has been researched both in Sweden and in Australia, and wherever a passage from a non-English text has been translated and quoted, the original quote in Swedish has been provided for the reader as a referenc

The Employment Effect of Stricter Rules for Eligibility for DI: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Sweden

We study the effect of a reform of the Swedish disability insurance (DI) program whereby the special eligibility rules for workers in the age group 60 to 64 were abolished. First, we use a differences-in-differences approach to study changes in the disability take-up as compared to the age group 55 to 59. Then, we use a similar approach to study to what extent the employment effect of the reform is "crowded out" by an increase in the utilization of the sickpay insurance (SI) and/or the unemployment insurance (UI). In an extended analysis, we study the effect of firm closure on employment and the utilization of different labor market insurance programs in different age groups before and after the reform.Disability Insurance; Early Retirement

Social Security, Occupational Pensions, and Retirement in Sweden

This paper provides an overview of the Swedish social security system and its impact on individual retirement behavior. First, we give some historical facts, as well as a more detailed description of the current situation, of labor market behavior of older persons. Second, we describe the social security system. We also describe the different occupational pension schemes, which have an increasing importance. Finally, we show the results from a simulation, where we have used the earnings path of several representative workers to calculate the implicit tax (or subsidy) rate on additional work after age 55 generated by the social security system in interaction with occupational pensions and income taxes as well as housing allowances. We find that the observed labor market behavior of older men is in accordance with the economic incentives generated by the social security system and in particular with the occupational pension scheme for blue collar workers.

Production of pyrolytic lignin for the phenolic resin synthesis via fast pyrolysis

Recycling of waste wood into resol type phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins via fast pyrolysis was demonstrated. Waste wood collected from the building demolition site in Finland was pyrolyzed with 20 kg/h circulating fluidized bed pyrolysis pilot unit. Pilot was operated with high organic liquid yield (60 wt% on average) and the produced fast pyrolysis bio-oil was fractionated by water addition into aqueous phase and water insoluble phase. The obtained fractions were characterized, and the water-insoluble viscous lignin fraction was used in the synthesis of PF-resins. Commercial phenol was successfully replaced by pyrolytic lignin fraction at 10 wt%, 20 wt%, 30 wt%, 40 wt% and 50 wt% producing resins of low in free formaldehyde content, but resins with high replacement ratio exhibited higher viscosities. The use of H2O/n-butanol mixture as solvent at a ratio 70:30 wt/wt% proved capable to prolong the storage time of the resin and helped to maintain the viscosity at acceptable values for at least 2 weeks before their use in the targeted application. Finally, the gluing performance of the resins was evaluated by measuring the tensile shear strength of lap joints formed by gluing 5 mm thick beech wood veneers. All the produced resins fulfilled a dry strength limit of ≥ 10 N/mm2. Wet strength limit ≥ 7 N/mm2 was fulfilled by the resins with the replacement ratio up 40 wt%, but resins with replacement ratio of 50 wt% had somewhat reduced wet strength. These results confirm a promising protentional application of pyrolysis derived lignin fraction in phenolic wood adhesives, at least in dry conditions

VALORISATION OF HYDROLYSIS LIGNIN REST FROM BIOETHANOL PILOT PLANT: PROCESS DEVELOPMENT AND UPSCALING

The aim of this work has been to find a scalable process to purify lignin and separate the cellulose-rich fraction from a poplar wood hydrolysis rest produced at a bioethanol pilot-plant. At initial laboratory optimization, a mild extraction of lignin was performed with 1 M NaOH at 90 °C to dissolve the lignin, that was further precipitated with sulfuric acid and this formed an easily filtrable powder. The main sub-product was a solid residue enriched in cellulose, which was successfully saccharified and tested for its fermentability. Further upscaling of the method was done at Bio Based Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP) in Belgium. In a first run 14.2 kg of purified poplar lignin was obtained and in a second run 128.6 kg was obtained. The wet fiber residue was processed by washing and enzymatic hydrolysis to obtain, 26.7 kg of concentrated sugar solution with 509.4 g/L of glucose.European Union´s H2020, GA no. 723670, REHA