Abstract

One of Europe’s most important nations, Sweden, has established a solid reputation as a welfare state. A member of the European Union since 1995, Sweden has not shown much interest in joining Europe’s single currency zone. The scale of the victory of the “No” side in the euro referendum in September 2003 implies that Sweden will not join the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union in the foreseeable future. The government has indicated that another referendum is unlikely to occur before 2010. Due to the changing demographic profile, the increasing pension burden and little scope to increase taxes, the Swedish model will continue to be under stress.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

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Keywords

Sweden, Swedish economy, European Union, EU, Economic and Monetary Union, EMU, Swedish model, Goran Persson, OECD, Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development, The Social Democratic Party, The Left and Green Party, GDP, gross domestic product, Swedish referendums, Olof Palme, Great Depression