This paper reviews a number of different methods that can be used to estimate potential output and the output gap. Measures of potential output and the output gap are useful to help identify the scope for sustainable noninflationary growth and to allow an assessment of the stance of...

Sweden represents an archetypal welfare state economy, with extensive government safety nets. Some scholars have attributed a decline in its per capita income ranking since 1970 to ""eurosclerosis"" or sluggish growth caused by distortionary policies. This paper argues rather, that the permanent...

Sweden represents an archetypal welfare state economy, with extensive government safety nets. Some scholars have attributed a decline in its per capita income ranking since 1970 to "eurosclerosis" or sluggish growth caused by distortionary policies. This paper argues rather, that the permanent...

Intro -- Contents -- Foreword -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- 1 Introduction and Overview -- 2 Main Elements of the Swedish Welfare State -- 3 The Swedish Growth Experience -- 4 Growth, Government, and the Welfare State -- 5 Labor Market Interventions -- 6 Investment and...

Sweden has long been viewed as epitomizing a particular approach to economic and social policy. To its advocates, the Swedish welfare state builds on a strong social consensus favoring extensive state intervention to ensure a high quality of life for all Swedes. To its critics, the Swedish...