OECD Economics Department Working Papers
Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.
The views expressed in these papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries.
- ISSN: 18151973 (online)
- https://doi.org/10.1787/18151973
How Regulatory Reforms in Sweden have boosted Productivity
The economic crisis in the early 1990s prompted action on reforming the Swedish welfare state and
its institutions, including deregulation of a wide range of product markets. In that way, Sweden took early
action compared to other OECD countries currently struggling with how to make public finances more
robust in an ageing context. The reforms that were implemented during the 1990s are now paying off in
terms of productivity and GDP growth. Empirical evidence suggests that deregulation has delivered a
considerable “productivity dividend”. Although significant progress therefore has been made, renewed
regulatory reform is needed to safeguard Sweden’s ambitious public policy goals. Efforts should focus on
improving enterprise formation and labour utilisation, as well as on providing better value for money in the
public sector by raising its efficiency and delivering high quality services.
Keywords: product market regulation, regulatory reforms, network industries, productivity dividend
JEL:
J20: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demand and Supply of Labor / Demand and Supply of Labor: General;
O47: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity / Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence;
F40: International Economics / Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance / Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance: General;
H60: Public Economics / National Budget, Deficit, and Debt / National Budget, Deficit, and Debt: General;
L53: Industrial Organization / Regulation and Industrial Policy / Enterprise Policy;
E20: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics / Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy / Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy: General;
H40: Public Economics / Publicly Provided Goods / Publicly Provided Goods: General;
E60: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics / Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook / Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook: General;
H11: Public Economics / Structure and Scope of Government / Structure, Scope, and Performance of Government;
D40: Microeconomics / Market Structure, Pricing, and Design / Market Structure, Pricing, and Design: General;
L50: Industrial Organization / Regulation and Industrial Policy / Regulation and Industrial Policy: General;
L51: Industrial Organization / Regulation and Industrial Policy / Economics of Regulation;
L11: Industrial Organization / Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance / Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
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