OECD main findings Sweden 2015 growth and skills

1. www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-sweden.htm
OECD
OECD Economics
2015 OECD ECONOMIC
SURVEY OF SWEDEN
Growth and skills
Stockholm, 30 March 2015

2. The economy has been resilient
2
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
125
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
125
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
2005Q1=1002005Q1=100 Real GDP
Sweden Germany United States Euro area Finland Denmark
Source: OECD Economic Outlook database.

3. Well-being is high
3
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
Income
Jobs and earnings
Housing
Work and life balance
Health status
Education and skillsSocial connections
Civic engagement and
governance
Environmental quality
Personal security
Subjective well-being
Sweden OECD Nordics
Source: OECD (2013), How’s Life? 2013: Measuring Well-being.

4. Growth is green
4
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
CHE
SWE
FRA
NOR
ESP
GBR
AUT
ITA
PRT
JPN
DEU
DNK
ISR
NLD
LUX
BEL
GRC
HUN
CHL
SVN
MEX
SVK
IRL
TUR
USA
CAN
CZE
KOR
LTV
POL
NZL
AUS
FIN
EST
ISL
Tons of CO2 per thousand
USD PPP
Tons of CO2 per thousand
USD PPP
Source: International Energy Agency, World Energy Statistics and Balances (database).
Greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP

5. Productivity has slowed
5
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
1993=100
1993=100
Sweden Finland United States Germany
Real GDP per hour worked
Source: OECD Productivity database.

6. Unemployment remains relatively high
6
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
% of labour force% of labour force
Sweden Germany United States Denmark Finland Euro area
Source: OECD Economic Outlook database.
Unemployment rate

7. Main Findings
o The economy has been resilient.
o Well-being is high, and growth is greener than in most other OECD
countries.
o Productivity growth has slowed, reflecting cyclical but also structural
factors.
o Sweden has a strong comparative advantage in knowledge-intensive
activities, which needs to be preserved.
o Educational achievements have slipped.
o Young people with low qualifications and immigrants are the most
vulnerable to unemployment.
7

8. Key Recommendations
 Broaden support for innovation and enhance coordination of innovation
and research policies.
 Simplify business and land-use planning regulations.
 Make teaching more attractive and improve teacher education.
 Increase support for struggling students, notably immigrants.
8

9. Strengthening the foundations
for growth

10. Sweden is close to the global efficiency frontier
Boosting growth
requires innovation
10
Source: OECD (2015), Economic Policy Reforms 2015: Going for Growth.
80
82
84
86
88
90
92
94
96
98
100
80
82
84
86
88
90
92
94
96
98
100
1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013
%% Output relative to upper half of OECD countries
GDP per capita GDP per hour worked

11. The current account surplus is high
11
Sweden is well
integrated in global
value chains
Services and
investment income
contribute strongly
to the surplus
Source: OECD Main Economic Indicators.
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
% of GDP% of GDP
Transfers + Goods Income + Services Current account

12. Sweden is an innovation leader
12
Innovation has been
boosting productivity
growth and living
standards
Keeping an edge in
innovation is crucial
Source: European Commission, Innovation Union Scoreboard 2014.
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
TUR
POL
HUN
GRC
PRT
ESP
ITA
NOR
EST
SVN
EU
FRA
ISL
AUT
IRL
GBR
BEL
NLD
LUX
FIN
DEU
DNK
SWE
CHE
IndexIndex
Modest innovators Moderate innovators Innovation followers Innovation leaders

13. International competition is becoming tougher,
including in high-productivity sectors
13
Enhance the role of services and SMEs in the
economy.
Broaden support for innovation and enhance
coordination of innovation and research policies.
The recently created Innovation Council can be a key
instrument to achieve these goals.

14. There is room for improving framework conditions
14
 Simplify regulatory procedures
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
Overall PMR
State involvement in business
operations
Complexity of regulatory
procedures
Administrative burdens
on start-ups
Regulatory protection of
incumbents
Implicit barriers to trade and
investment
Sweden OECD Other Nordics Best performer
Source: OECD (2013), Product Market Regulation Database.

15. R&D expenditure and knowledge-intensive jobs
go together
15
Source: Eurostat.
Business enterprise R&D (BERD) expenditure and skilled employment
AUT
BEL
CZE
DNK
EST
FIN
FRA
DEU
GRC
HUN
ISL IRL
ITA
JPN
NLD
NOR
POL
PRT
SVK
SVN
ESP
SWE
GBR
USA
EU28
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
25 30 35 40 45
BERDasa%ofGDP
Knowledge-intensive activities as a percentage of total employment

16. Skills and inclusive growth

17. High employment keeps inequalities low
17
Wage
compression,
along with taxes
and transfers,
contribute to low
inequalities
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
SVN
NOR
ISL
DNK
CZE
FIN
SVK
BEL
SWE
LUX
NLD
AUT
CHE
HUN
DEU
IRL
POL
KOR
FRA
CAN
ITA
EST
NZL
AUS
GRC
JPN
PRT
ESP
GBR
ISR
USA
TUR
MEX
CHL
IndexIndex
Latest 1990s
Source: OECD Income Distribution and Poverty Database.
Gini coefficient post taxes and transfers

18. The low-skilled struggle to get a foothold in the
labour market
18
 Enhance skills.
 Increase flexibility in entry level wages.
 Reduce the gap in employment protection
between permanent and temporary contracts.

19. The fall in PISA results will likely translate into
lower adult skills
19
460
480
500
520
540
560
460
480
500
520
540
560
2003 2006 2009 2012
Average PISA scoreAverage PISA score
PISA results in the Nordics
Sweden Denmark Norway Finland
Source: PISA Databases (2009 and 2012).
The OECD
Survey of Adult
Skills (PIAAC)
also shows
weaker results for
younger cohorts

20. Performance in compulsory school should be
improved
20
 Raise the attractiveness of the teaching profession by:
• Increasing monetary incentives
• Offering better career paths
• Improving teacher education
 Consider consolidating some of the institutions that
advise on and supervise education policy into an
education policy council.

21. Skills vary considerably across educational
attainment
21
 Increase support for struggling students, notably immigrants
 Target resources based on socio-economic background
2
3
4
5
225
275
325
375
Atmostlower
secondary
Uppersecondary-
vocational
Uppersecondary-
general
Post-secondarynot
tertiary
Tertiarytype
vocational
Tertiaryacademic
andresearch
PIAAC levelPIAAC score
Range of literacy proficiency among young
adults in Sweden
Source: OECD Survey of Adult Skills (2012).

22. Sweden receives high humanitarian and family
reunion immigration
Permanent immigration by category of entry
2012
22
Source: OECD International Migration Outlook 2014.
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
MEX
JPN
KOR
GBR
ESP
DEU
DNK
PRT
IRL
NLD
ITA
AUT
FRA
OECD
BEL
FIN
USA
CAN
CHE
AUS
NOR
NZL
SWE
% of total population% of total population
Family Humanitarian

23. Literacy proficiency is crucial for immigrants to
get jobs
23
 Enhance support and incentives for immigrants to learn Swedish
1
2
3
4
5
175
225
275
325
375
Foreign-born
Native-born
Foreign-born
Native-born
Foreign-born
Native-born
Lower than upper
secondary
Upper secondary Tertiary
PIAAC levelPIAAC score
Poorer literacy and higher variation among
young immigrants than their native peers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
At most lower
secondary
Upper secondary Tertiary education
%
Non-EU young adults are less educated than
their native peers
EU Non-EU Native
Source: OECD Survey of Adult Skills (2012).

24. More Information…
www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-sweden.htm
OECD
OECD Economics
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