EEI Brief: Sweden - The Free-Market Powerhouse

This EEI Brief describes the Swedish recipe for economic and social progress.

Sweden is one of the most prosperous countries in the world. A century and a half ago, however, living standards in Sweden were comparable to those of Sierra Leone today. A series of early free-market reforms – not least in trade, banking and business regulation – made Sweden one of the fastest growing economies of the world for decades. The success was reversed in the 1970s following a massive expansion in government intervention. But during the last two decades, Sweden has once more liberalized, and is again one of Europe’s success stories.