Sweden - Cultural and Institutional Dimensions of Developing and Reforming Social Security Systems

Summary, in English

The paper gives a brief presentation of the cultural and institutional specificities of Sweden and how these cultural and institutional specificities impact the development of the Swedish social welfare system over periods of change, transition and strategic adjustment. The paper concludes by presenting a suggestion of a new view of the relationship between culture and social welfare systems, which questions the ability of neo-liberal ideology and political-institutional alignments to suceed if they abandon traditional cultural and institutional demands of balancing the dual social security goals of efficiency and equality.