The SNS Economic Policy Council analyses how various key aspects of the economy function over time.


SNS Economic Policy Council Report 2023: Structural Transformation of the Swedish Labor Market: Consequences and Policy Measures

Short courses with a clear link to occupations and personal job-seeking assistance are needed to ensure that older and low-skilled people find new jobs after being made redundant, according to four economists in the SNS Economic Policy Council Report 2023.

Researchers

Peter Fredriksson is a professor of economics at Uppsala University. He is director of Uppsala Center for Labor Studies (UCLS), member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and is affiliated with the Institute of Labour Economics (IZA) in Bonn, CESIfo in Munich and the Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy (IFAU) in Uppsala.

Georg Graetz is an associate professor of economics at Uppsala University. He is also affiliated with UCLS, Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) in London, CESIfo, IZA and IFAU.

Lena Hensvik is a professor of economics at Uppsala University. She is editor of the journal Labour Economics and also affiliated with UCLS, IFAU and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London.

David Seim is a professor of economics at Stockholm University. He is editor of the Journal of Public Economics and also affiliated with UCLS, IZA and CEPR.

Contact

Stefan Sandström, stefan.sandstrom@sns.se, +46(0)8 507 025 64


SNS Economic Policy Council Report 2022: Public Procurement

A major problem with regard to public procurement is that buyers are not allowed to take previous experiences with suppliers into account when evaluating tenders. In order to remedy this, The SNS Economic Policy Council 2022 proposes introducing rating systems for suppliers to the public sector similar to systems used online to rate taxi and hotel services.

In 2019, Swedish public sector procurement amounted to more than SEK 800 billion, corresponding to almost 18 percent of GDP. In the report, the authors highlight a number of problems related to how public procurement is currently carried out while also suggesting ways of addressing these.

The report was published on January 20, 2022.

Researchers

Sofia Lundberg (chair), Professor of Economics, Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics, Umeå University

Malin Arve, Associate Professor of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen

Mats A. Bergman, Professor of Economics, Södertörn University

Lars Henriksson, Professor of Law, Stockholm School of Economics

Contact

Stefan Sandström, stefan.sandstrom@sns.se, +46(0)8 507 025 64


SNS Economic Policy Council Report 2021: Digitalization and Competition

Digitalization has resulted in increased market concentration, new bottlenecks, and lock-in effects where revenues and market power are concentrated to a small number of platforms. In The SNS Economic Policy Council Report 2021: Digitalization and Competition, fours researchers analyze and discuss the legislative proposals currently being prepared in Brussels and Washington, D.C. to address these issues as well as ongoing legal processes against tech giants on both sides of the Atlantic and the preconditions for Swedish companies to succeed in the global competitive environment.

The report was published on February 26, 2021.

Researchers

Sten Nyberg (chair), Professor of Economics at Stockholm University

Richard Friberg, Professor of Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics

Björn Lundqvist, Associate Professor of Law at Stockholm University

Robin Teigland, Professor of Management of Digitalization at Chalmers University of Technology

Contact

Stefan Sandström, stefan.sandstrom@sns.se, +46(0)8 507 025 64


SNS Economic Policy Council 2020: Swedish Policy for Global Climate

The SNS Economic Policy Council 2020 analyses Swedish climate policy in a global perspective. The aim is to contribute to a constructive discussion and propose measures to make climate policy more efficient.

Climate policy is a complex area which encompasses many perspectives. That is why the Council consists of researchers from a variety of academic disciplines, with different backgrounds and in part also different positions in the climate policy debate.

– The ambition is to agree on as much as possible. But we would also like to find unity in the way we analyse the things we don’t agree on. In this way, we can stress what is still controversial and point to what the differences in analysis consist of, says John Hassler, chair of the SNS Economic Policy Council 2020.

Researchers

John Hassler (chairman), Professor of Economics, Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES), Stockholm University
Björn Carlén, Ph.D. in Economics, Researcher at the Environmental Economics unit at the National Institute of Economic Research
Jonas Eliasson, Visiting Professor in Transport Systems, Linköping University, former Director of the Stockholm City Transportation Department, and Professor of Transport Systems Analysis, Royal Institute of Technology
Filip Johnsson, Professor of Sustainable Energy Systems, Chalmers University of Technology
Per Krusell, Professor of Economics, Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES), Stockholm University
Therese Lindahl, Ph.D. in Economics, Researcher at the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics
Jonas Nycander, Professor of Physical Oceanography, Stockholm University
Åsa Romson, Doctor of Legal Science (environmental science), Researcher at the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, former Minister for the Environment
Thomas Sterner, Professor of Environmental Economics, University of Gothenburg
Process manager is Mattias Schain, lawyer, and formerly among other things Political Adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Contact

Stefan Sandström, stefan.sandstrom@sns.se,tel +46(0)8 507 025 64

Time frame

The report was published on January 15, 2020.


The SNS Economic Policy Council 2019: The Future of Swedish Municipalities

Swedish municipalities are not only facing great challenges when it comes to financing, competence provision, an ageing population, and integrating refugees. They also need to manage falling school achievement and an increasing number of eldercare providers’ taking sick leave.

The SNS Economic Policy Council 2019 examines the current Swedish municipal model and its ability to fulfil its commitments. Is the model sustainable? What authority can the government undertake without inferring with the municipalities’ autonomy? To what extent can voters hold their local politicians accountable? How should the local democratic system be organised?

The authors contrast an ideal type of municipal governance, derived from economic theories, with empirical evidence of how the Swedish municipal model has developed. Following this analysis is a detailed description of the challenges facing two of the biggest sectors managed by Swedish municipalities – education and eldercare. The report includes suggestions for improving policies on organizational structure, public governance, and financing strategies. In addition, the authors present four alternative municipal models and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.

The report presentation took place at a conference on January 16, 2019.

Researchers

Eva Mörk, Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics and director of Uppsala Center for Fiscal Studies (UCFS), Uppsala University. Chair of the council.

Gissur Ó Erlingsson, Associate Professor at the Department for Studies of Social Change and Culture (ISAK) and the Centre for Municipality Studies (CKS), Linköping University.

Lovisa Persson, researcher at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN).

Jørn Rattsø, Professor of Economics at the departments of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Contact

Research Director: Stefan Sandström, stefan.sandstrom@sns.se, phone +46 8 507 025 64.


SNS Economic Policy council report 2018: How should capital be taxed? A Swedish perspective

Capital is needed for investment in production, housing, and infrastructure, and for private consumption and saving. In 2015, taxes on capital accounted for one-eighth of the tax revenues in Sweden. While the need for capital investment increases, so does the concern that the unequal distribution of wealth will lead to rifts that can cause serious social and political unrest.

Sweden faces several choices when it comes to the taxation of capital in the future. However, these issues have been largely neglected in the Swedish political debate. The purpose of this report is to put forward proposals as to how Sweden, as a small, open economy, could structure its capital taxation without hindering economic growth and without spurring the emigration of capital.

The SNS Economic Policy Council 2018 examines the amount and distribution of capital in Sweden. The report presents a comprehensive analysis of the attitudes of Swedes towards the distribution of wealth and the taxation of capital. More specifically, the Council examines proposals for capital taxes, drawing from economic theory and empirical studies of the design of capital taxes.

The report presentation took place at a conference on January 17, 2018.

Contact

Stefan Sandström, stefan.sandstrom@sns.se, +46 8-507 025 64.

Researchers

Daniel Waldenström
Spencer Bastani
Åsa Hansson


The SNS Economic Policy Council 2017: Challenges for the Swedish Labour Market

Starting from a description of the current situation on the Swedish labour market, strengths and weaknesses are highlighted. The SNS Economic Policy Council 2017 shows that problems are concentrated in several especially vulnerable groups. There are no indications that the labour market does not function properly for core groups. Rather, the labour market has trended towards a sharper division between the vast majority and marginal groups, the latter of which are facing great difficulties in entering the labour market.

Principles for Policy Reform Design

This report identifies and discusses a number of general principles that can guide labour market policy. One example is that measures to tackle unemployment should be introduced quickly, since employers may be hesitant to hire people who are long-term unemployed.

Reform Measures Addressing Specific Groups

The report contains proposals of specific reform measures directed towards marginal groups: foreign-born, focusing on newly arrived refugees; young people who have not finished upper secondary school; and older people, often less educated, who have lost their jobs through redundancies due to industry closures or shortages of work.

Report presentation took place at a conference on January 25, 2017.

Researchers

The research team consists of three economists. Professor Oskar Nordström Skans, Uppsala University, is chairman. The other members of the team are Lena Hensvik, Ph.D. and Researcher, Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy (IFAU), and Stefan Eriksson, Associate Professor, Uppsala University.

Project Research Director

Stefan Sandström, stefan.sandstrom@sns.se, phone +46 8 507 025 64


What is the SNS Economic Policy Council?

Since 1974, SNS annually appoints a group of academic researchers that, going under the name of the SNS Economic Policy Council, analyses how various key aspects of the economy function over time. Based on its conclusions, the Council makes recommendations to politicians and also, occasionally, to other decision-makers.

In the past, Councils have thrown light on, for example, debt and financial stability, government spending on transport infrastructure, and the financing of the welfare state. These reports and proposals are presented and discussed at SNS seminars in Stockholm and in local SNS chapters in Sweden and abroad. Sweden’s Minister of Finance and other ministers – relevant for the theme of the report – are invited to comment on the Council’s conclusions.

SNS’ purpose is to ensure that the public debate is based on high-quality scientific research; the Economic Policy Council reports usually attract a good deal of attention in the media. The authors take full responsibility for the analysis, conclusions and proposals in the report, on which SNS as an organisation adopts a neutral stance.