Lärande och krisbekämpning under tre ekonomiska kriser i Sverige

Abstract

Learning and economic crises in Sweden from the 1990s to 2020

The aim of this article is to discuss similarities and differences with regard to how to combat and solve economic crises in Sweden during the 1990’s depression, the global financial crisis 2008-09 and the 2020 Covid-19 crisis. In recent years in social science the existence of path dependence has been discussed to a large extent. The conclusion in this article is that there were differences but also clear path dependency in the way Swedish governments and municipal authorities tried to combat and solve economic crises. What was learned particularly in order to put the financial and banking sector in shape during the 1990s was also used with some success in 2008-09, namely to convince both the financial market actors and the public that the Swedish government was ready to use ample sources in order to serve as a lender of last resort. In the case of the ongoing Covid 19-crisis, the signals from the outset were to put in use parts of this strategy once again. However, I argue, the recent crisis is of a very different kind than the previous two and there is no guarantee that the strategy will work once again.