PRIVATISING THE SWEDISH WELFARE STATE

The introduction of private competition and choice in the Swedish welfare sector has attracted widespread attention in recent years. This paper sets out the factors that helped make this development possible, and explains why the influence of the organisational theory of New Public Management (NPM) has ensured that while market economy elements have increased in welfare services, the scope of the state and the public sector has continued to grow. The result is the emergence of welfare quasi-markets, which are increasingly subject to input-related regulation and control.