Sweden

This review analyses the Swedish institutional framework for better regulation. In recent years Sweden has made a remarkable recovery, benefiting from deregulation efforts undertaken in the early to mid 1990s. Sweden places a strong emphasis on high standards of social welfare and a strong governance framework, which foster consensus. To preserve its ambitious social and environmental goals, Sweden needs to maintain its strong economic performance. A number of challenges should be addressed, such as the labour market, the performance of the public sector and the strengthening of competition. Entrepreneurship also should be stimulated, and further efforts have to be made to reduce administrative burdens. To create momentum for reform, Sweden needs to promote a strategic vision, improve the process for impact assessment, and strengthen co-ordination between national and local levels of government. The benefits of reform need to be more widely understood by all stakeholders and citizens. Regulatory reform will help Sweden take advantage of globalisation and technological innovation, and meet the demands of citizens for high-quality public services. Sweden is one of many OECD countries to request a broad review by the OECD of its regulatory practices and reforms. This review presents an overall picture, set within a macroeconomic context, of regulatory achievements and challenges including regulatory quality, competition policy, and market openness. Its special focus is on regulatory governance across levels of government as well as environmental policy. The background material used to prepare this report is available at: www.oecd.org/regreform/backgroundreports In the same series: Canada Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Japan Korea Mexico Netherlands Norway Poland Russia Spain Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom United States.