How to evaluate the welfare system in Sweden?

Enlightenment from social welfare state

(A) the characteristics of Sweden's social welfare state model

Sweden raises funds for developed social welfare countries with higher taxes. A high degree of income transfer and extensive public services are mainly undertaken by grassroots departments. It is also a special form of economic adjustment, with the help of public consumption to adjust the economic demand side. At the same time, it is a specific development model and has the ability to promote the reform of institutional structure. Over the years, the social welfare situation in Sweden has aroused widespread concern. The reason is that Sweden's social welfare state combines a relatively efficient production sector with relatively equal's income distribution and fair opportunities. Since 1989, Sweden's social welfare state model has attracted the interest of some reformist politicians and economists in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union countries. They have visited Sweden many times, hoping to establish a social welfare model similar to Sweden, so that their country can establish a social security system that can provide fair distribution and equal opportunities while transforming into a market economy. The characteristics of Swedish social welfare state model can be summarized as follows: (1) Based on private ownership and market economy. Private ownership economy is the necessary material premise of their social security system, and market economy is an effective production system. In competitive industrial sectors, we should oppose any form of nationalization of means of production, especially in industrial and agricultural production, and implement a market economy based on private ownership. (2) Emphasize the role of the state. First of all, the implementation of a high degree of planning and adjustment, so that the development of production based on an open market economy and the growth based on a strong public sector are coordinated; Secondly, it emphasizes the role of the public sector in providing social security, social welfare and social services. (3) Pay attention to technology development. Emphasize the flexibility of industrial structure transformation and labor mobility. (4) There is a broad public opinion base in coordinating fairness and efficiency, balancing economic growth, social development and environmental protection.

(b) Problems faced by the Swedish social welfare system

(1) The scale, scope and role of the public sector in the development of social welfare system in Sweden. Although there are some * * * identical views among various parties and social strata, the debate of different opinions, especially between the Social Democratic Party and the Conservative Party, has never stopped. Conservative Party's criticism mainly focuses on: a certain degree of economic distortion and inefficiency caused by the huge public sector, the government's monopoly on certain services and so on. In recent years, all parties are skeptical about the excessively large government-guaranteed projects. However, they all agree that the public sector is not only responsible for poverty and disease, but also for the retirement of children, the disabled and the elderly. The general purpose of social security is to redistribute income in different periods of life, narrow the differences between different social classes and provide a wide range of public services for everyone. At present, economic adjustment is changing the structure and scope of the public sector, the democratization of the economy and the role of the market in allocating resources. (2) Another problem of social welfare security in Sweden is the shortage of some important medical personnel. In the late 1980s, the medical security system under the responsibility of local governments was overloaded, and some important doctors were in short supply, which caused some operations to wait in line. Some projects that take care of children and the elderly are not easy to recruit and retain employees. (3) The development of international politics and economy restricts the future situation of Swedish social welfare system. First of all, in most European countries, right-wing parties have gained more votes, and the influence of right-wing political thoughts has expanded. Liberalism, decentralism and individualism gained more support, and the Social Democratic Party was on the defensive. Secondly, another noteworthy trend is internationalization, that is, new forms in the process of economic and new technology globalization, such as the establishment of the European Union and the acceleration of European integration. Third, because of its geographical proximity to several Eastern European countries, the development of Eastern Europe will have a strong impact on Northern Europe. Obviously, the internationalization trend guided by the "triangle structure" of the United States, Japan and the European Union makes the social welfare system in Sweden face a higher degree of international competition. As a member of the European Union, Sweden will face certain pressure if it does not adopt a social security system similar to the EU-led model (such as the Italian model and the German model). With the advancement of EU integration, the opening of borders and the free movement of people, goods and capital will put pressure on tax rates, especially the higher consumption tax and income tax. At the same time, in the process of globalization and internationalization, conservative and free political forces have been strengthened. First of all, the Conservative Party has been in power for a longer time. Secondly, it is more difficult for the Social Democratic Party to maintain an economic policy with the characteristics of the Social Democratic Party. The traditional right-wing economic policy or liberal economic policy, expanding market supervision and reducing the public sector, has gained more and more support within the Social Democratic Party.

Challenges faced by Swedish social welfare model

The changes caused by economic internationalization are changing the living conditions of Swedish social welfare model, and may limit the possibility of adopting new solutions to the problems faced. Next, we will focus on the three major challenges facing the Swedish model. Economic democratization is a natural element of a highly developed social model. Economic democracy also provides stronger social adjustment for investment. This shows that the open economy of a small Swedish country can compete in the world market. The basic problem of opening up the Swedish economy is to maintain a high level of investment while maintaining social supervision over these investments. The solution lies in maintaining and expanding economic democracy. In recent years, the development of economic globalization has shaken the labor movement organization and institutional structure in the Nordic countries to some extent, and strengthened the position and power of manufacturers in the social organization structure, which contradicts the democratization and socialization of the economy. The management of public interest and its social function can only be realized through social democratization. (2) Expanding economic control Sweden's social welfare model has expanded the relationship between the public sector and the private sector. In the process of economic internationalization, there is a view that this model has gone too far in regulating the economy, and market regulation should be expanded and privatization and decentralization should be implemented within a certain range. However, we can also make the opposite argument. The problem is not that there is too much regulation of the private sector, but that it is far from enough. We can give two examples: first, the capitalist system is a system that does not pay social costs. Huge social costs related to environmental pollution and dangerous working conditions are increasing day by day, and enterprises themselves will not automatically pay these costs. Therefore, it is necessary to take necessary adjustment measures to transfer these costs to enterprises or reduce them. In the context of research, education, production and export activities, it is necessary to develop new relations between the public and private sectors. It is necessary to establish a new form of economic socialization. (3) The new form of international cooperation, the triangular structure of the United States, Japan and Europe and the internationalization promoted by its economic and technological development will undoubtedly have a great impact on Sweden's social welfare model. In particular, it is still a question worth discussing whether the establishment of the EU single market will have a favorable or unfavorable impact on Northern Europe. Although it is difficult for small economies and small and medium-sized enterprises in Sweden to play a decisive role in the "triangle" relationship, the current strategy is to develop technologies that can compete with countries such as the United States, Japan and Germany in key areas. Also, what is important is how all resources flow within the EU and cooperation with several neighboring countries outside the EU. This cooperation can include Baltic countries and Mediterranean countries in the Nordic region. The purpose of expanding regional cooperation is to weaken the centralized tendency caused by northern Europe. Conclusion: The changes of political and economic conditions caused by the internationalization and globalization of the world economy will affect the future development of social security model in Sweden. We investigated the problems and challenges faced by the Swedish model from three aspects, namely, welfare policy, economic policy and the ability to change the basic system. We further believe that if we want to maintain the basic characteristics of social security in Sweden, we need to make some adjustments in the private sector and strengthen the relationship between the private sector and the public sector. These changes include new forms of economic democratization and socialization of private economy. Finally, new forms of international economic cooperation must be adopted.

A highly perfect welfare system

Sweden is a welfare state. Since 1936 Social Democratic Party came to power, Sweden has implemented a wide range of social welfare policies and established a relatively complete social welfare system. Social welfare expenditure accounts for about 30% of national income. Social welfare programs are extensive, and education has spread to almost all citizens.

The characteristic of social welfare in Sweden is to ensure that the basic life of all citizens, especially the elderly, is the right of citizens. Implement the welfare system from cradle to grave, covering people's life, and guarantee various social welfare systems through legislation. When citizens' right to receive social welfare allowance cannot be realized or violated, they can appeal to "local public insurance court" or "senior public insurance court". Every citizen has a "personal number" to prove his identity from seeing a doctor to taking the bus and subway, and these numbers are input into the computer. The office of the welfare center is managed by computer. The father of the newborn baby has the right to take nine months off, and the mother of the baby can also take full pay to look after the child at home. Parents can receive living allowance until their children reach the age of 16. Young people who have completed nine-year compulsory education can get a study allowance if they continue their studies after reaching the age of 16. The amount of sick leave allowance enjoyed by patients depends on the length of sick leave, which is equivalent to 75% of salary-100%. Most of the medical expenses and medical expenses through doctors are borne by the state.

Sweden implements compulsory education. The average age of the population is older, and the death rate and birth rate are the lowest in the world. Sweden has no slums. The urban layout is reasonable, the building is modern and the indoor equipment is very advanced. The capital Stockholm has also set up audio signal devices for blind people crossing the road, and special electronic devices have been installed on the streets to automatically record the number of cars that violate traffic regulations. Foreign immigrants enjoy the same social welfare benefits as Swedes.

Sweden's labor market has always been famous for its high degree of unionization and harmonious form of labor-management consultation. According to Swedish law, the legal working hours are 40 hours per week, and every worker can get at least five weeks paid vacation every year. As both trade unions and employers have made great efforts to ensure safety and improve the working environment, labor relations in Sweden are relatively harmonious.

In Sweden, all registered unemployed people have unemployment benefits, the amount of which depends on the length of working hours. Those who have been laid off for more than one year can receive 500 Swedish kronor per day after unemployment, and those who have been laid off for six months to one year can receive 240 Swedish kronor per day. Specialized employment agencies input the information of unemployed people into computers to provide them with the latest employment information and vocational training.