THE GENDERED EFFECTS OF THE REREGULATION OF THE SWEDISH WELFARE STATE: BEYOND THE 'DEATH OF A MODEL' DEBATE KIMBERLY EARLES A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN POLITICAL SCIENCE YORK UNIVERSITY, TORONTO, ONTARIO OCTOBER 2009 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your Tile Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-64868-1 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-64868-1 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada ABSTRACT The dissertation goes beyond the 'death of a model' debate that emerged in the 1990s to determine the effects of recent changes to the Swedish welfare state, particularly in the areas of childcare, parental leave and pensions. It argues that what has taken place in Sweden over the past two decades is a process of reregulation, led by the state in an attempt to adapt to the current neoliberal global economic paradigm, while still aiming to maintain the social democratic goals of equality and full employment. The project uses a combination of secondary sources, primary documents, and interviews with those who have been involved in, or who are critical of, recent welfare state reforms in Sweden. Interviewees included politicians, scholars, researchers, bureaucrats and former bureaucrats, union economists, journalists, consultants, and activists, many of whom were directly involved in the creation of the parental leave system or the pension reform, or who have taken part in government-appointed commissions on these issues. In exploring the Swedish case, the dissertation confirms that states react differently to similar pressures, and demonstrates how important the state remains in terms of welfare state policy. The process of reregulation exposes how recent reforms have been state-led and how the state retains control over how to adapt neoliberalism within its own specific national context. It also explores how such processes are not gender-neutral, analyzing the importance of a state's dominant gender order in influencing the reregulation process, as well as the influence reregulation can have on gender relations in a given context. What this study concludes is that the gendered effects of the reregulation process have been both positive and negative. Both childcare and parental leave have been significant factors in allowing men and women to better balance work and family, at the same time encouraging women's labour force participation and men's role in child-rearing. On the other hand, by taking the typical male career pattern as the norm, the pension reform of the 1990s punishes those who work part-time or who enter the labour force late or leave early, the majority of whom are women. IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This has been a long process and I have many people to thank for their help and support throughout. First, I would like to thank my supervisor Leo Panitch for his encouragement and feedback, and for introducing me to the concept of reregulation. I would also like to thank committee members Stephen Hellman and Rianne Mahon for their guidance and support, and their help in setting up my fieldwork in Sweden. A special thank you to Rianne - without her inspiring work, this dissertation would not have been possible. There are many people at York that I would like to thank: Sandy Whitworth, David McNally, Susan Henders, Ann Denholm-Crosby, Carolyn Cross, Marlene Quesenberry, Jlenya Sarra, as well as the GPSSA Women's Caucus & Feminist Speakers' Series. Thank you to Sean Penney and Jeff Braun-Jackson for fostering my interest in the social sciences. And thank you to Byron Sheldrick, Candace Johnson, Janine Clarke, and Judith McKenzie at the University of Guelph for being great colleagues and friends. There are also many people who I would like to thank for their part in developing the ideas in my dissertation: Hester Eisenstein at Socialism & Democracy, as well as the discussants at the various conferences where I have presented my work over the years, including Greg Albo, Andreas Bergh, Rosemary Crompton, Jonathan Gershuny Stephen Hellman, Rianne Mahon, Patrik Marier, and Ann Porter. In April 2005 I travelled to Stockholm, Sweden to complete my fieldwork. I want to thank Marta Szebehely and the Department of Social Work at Stockholm University for their partnership. I want to thank Urban Lundberg, J. Magnus Ryner, and America Vera- Zavala for providing me with many contacts in Sweden. Also, a special thanks to Barbara Hobson for sharing her home with me. Thank you to the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the Graduate Students' Association, and CUPE 3903 at York for the financial support. And the most heartfelt thank you goes to all of the people who gave their time to be interviewed in Sweden that summer. Thank you to Tammy Findlay, my friend and guide through academia; to Maya Eichler, Ahmed Allawahla, and Martijn Konings for their support over the years; to Lara Karaian for the years spent together writing; and to Sara Swain, Monica Fitzpatrick, Andre Gaulin, Paul and Ketty Zafra, and Kimberley McKeown for being great friends. Thank you to my parents and family for all of their support. A big thank you to Elli and Arlo. And the biggest thank you to Wes Hodgson, my amazingly talented partner in life, and the smartest person I know. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iv Acknowledgments v List of Tables and Figures viii List of Acronyms ix 1. Beyond the 'Death of a Model' Debate: The Reregulation of the Swedish Welfare State Introduction 1 The Swedish model 4 Reregulation and the Swedish Welfare State 21 Methodology and Chapter Outline 33 2. Women in the 'People's Home': Women's Relationship to the Social Democratic Welfare State Introduction 40 Swedish Women and the 'People's Home' in Historical Perspective 49 Women's Employment and the Welfare State: Establishing the Pattern 63 Women and the Welfare State: Since the 1990s 70 Conclusions 83 3. The Reregulation of Swedish Childcare and Parental Leave: Implications for Women's Equality Introduction 87 Changes to Childcare Since 1990 96 Changes to Childcare in the Past Decade 107 Changes to Parental Leave Since 1990 117 Conclusions 125 4. The Swedish Pension System, 1959-1998: The Rise and Fall of the 'Jewel in the Crown' of the Social Democratic Party Introduction 128 Development of the ATP Pension System 133 Background to the Pension Reform 140 The Pension Reform 146 vi Constructing the New Pension System 150 The Pension Reform and the SAP 162 Conclusions 168 5. The New Swedish Pension System: The Challenge to Social Democracy Introduction 170 The Premium Pension: The Administration of Choice' 179 Outcomes of the New Pension System 187 Gendered Effects of the New Pension System 199 Sweden's Pension Reform: A New Model? 205 Conclusions 209 6. The Swedish Welfare State of the Future: Social Democratic or Neoliberal? Introduction 214 The Effects of the Introduction of'Choice' 218 The Future of the Swedish Social Democratic Welfare State 221 The Future of Swedish Gender Equality 228 Resistance and Political Mobilization 230 Conclusions 239 References Interviews 241 Primary Sources 244 Secondary Sources 251 VI1 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 2.1: Women aged 20-64 by activity status and hours normally worked, 1970-2003 67 Table 2.1: Women in the Swedish parliament (%}, 1950-2006 71 Figure 2.2: Population aged 20-64 in and not in the labour force, 2003 77 Figure 2.3: Employees aged 20-64 by sector and link to labour market, 1987-2003 78 Figure 2.4: Men aged 20-64 by activity status and hours normally worked, 1970-2003 81 Table 2.2: Women and men aged 16-64 with part-time work (%), 1990-2004......82 Figure 3.1: Swedish fertility rate, 1890-2003 89 Figure 3.2: Children in municipal day care, 1972-2003 Ill Figure 3.3: Insured