State Ownership and Privatization in Sweden

Abstract

This paper highlights the issue of state ownership, nationalization and privatization of firms in Sweden. The main questions are; why was state ownership initiated and how was it so widely extended during the 20th century, and why has state owned property during different periods been privatized and how was these operations conducted? In short, the purpose of the paper is threefolded. First, analysing the driving forces behind state ownership since the mid-1800s and in particular highlight periods when state ownership has increased widely. Surprisingly, the driving forces behind nationalization has rarely been based on ideological grounds, instead the main reason, among others, has been in the wake of economic crises, where the government has acted as "owner-of-last-resort". Second, the paper analyses the first privatization process that Occurred in the end of the 1980s and early 1990s. Third, the Paper discusses the privatization program launched by the Conservative-liberal government in 2006 intended to sell 6 state-owned companies.