The Nordic countries share many features as far as welfare state and labour market institutions are concerned. However, the upper secondary school systems differ significantly in how the vocational tracks are organized. In Denmark and Norway vocational tracks are dual, i.e. they combine school...

Research has consistently shown that poverty and economic hardship have negative consequences for children. Few studies, however, have examined whether these consequences persists into adulthood. In the present paper we broaden the focus and analyse how living conditions during childhood and...

Long term take-up of means-tested social assistance benefits increased rapidly in Sweden during the economic downturn of the 1990s and is at present established at levels well beyond those we saw before the crisis. In previous analyses of long term social assistance recipients the group has been...

That living conditions differ between urban and rural areas is often taken for granted. But what does it look like when we explore more manifest indicators of social exclusion and marginalization? Are these problems present also in rural areas? And if so, does the character of such problems...

This paper has two purposes: the first is to give an introduction to and an analysis of the most important concepts for describing social disadvantage in contemporary Sweden – poverty, social exclusion and the concept “utanförskap”. The latter is difficult to give a proper English...

This handbook explains the simulation model IFSIM. IFSIM is an agent based simulation model written in JAVA. The model is constructed for analyzing demographic and economic issues. The aim of the model is to include the main consumption and production patterns over the life-cycle and thus being...

This study discusses social capital and related concepts that can be useful when analysing cartels. Different types of definitions of social capital are discussed. It is concluded that organisations can generate social capital which results in increased ability to cooperate in efficient ways....

Horizon scanning is an ambiguous concept and difficult to define. Within the context of central government authorities, it can be interpreted as an umbrella term for a variety of activities that monitors and analyzes changes in the external environment. As a phenomenon and discourse, horizon...

Activation policies and programs are one of the main instruments to promote the transition from welfare to work and to (re)integrate people depending on social insurance benefits or social assistance into the labor market. However, to make labor market integration sustainable, disadvantaged...

In 2001, the Swedish system of student aid for college students was substantially re-formed; the grant-share of the total aid was increased, students were allowed to earn more without a reduction in student aid, and the repayment schedule of the loans was significantly tightened. In this paper, we...