Poor relief, taxes and the first Universal Pension Reform: the origin of the Swedish welfare state reconsidered

In the year 1900, Sweden probably had the oldest population in the contemporary world. It was also the first nation to implement a universal pension system in 1913. The universal character in early social legislation has certainly been decisive for the development of the Swedish welfare state. This alternative has not been self-evident. Why did the reforms turn universal, when the continental model, the Bismarck social security system, was exclusively directed at industrial workers? Research has concentrated on demographic factors and growing demands for social security, or on the fact that Sweden was still a predominantly rural society with about 2,400 local authorities. This article examines the development of social legislation in the light of local government expenditures and incomes, and suggests an overlooked possibility: the formulation of the first universal national social security reform was a redistributional response to uneven distribution of incomes and general expenditures among the rural districts in Sweden.     

Ready, willing, and able to divorce: an economic and cultural history of divorce in twentieth-century Sweden

This study outlines a long history of divorce in Sweden, recognizing the importance of considering both economic and cultural factors in the analysis of marital dissolution. Following Ansley Coale, the authors examine how a framework of multiple theoretical constructs, in interaction, can be applied to the development toward mass divorce. Applying a long historical perspective, the authors argue that an analysis of gendered aspects of the interaction between culture and economics is crucial for the understanding of the rise of mass divorce. The empirical analysis finds support for a marked decrease in legal and cultural obstacles to divorce already during the first decades of the twentieth century. However, economic structures remained a severe obstacle that prohibited significant increases in divorce rate prior to World War II. It was only during the 1940s and 1960s, when cultural change was complemented by marked decreases in economic interdependence between spouses, that the divorce rate exhibited significant increases. The authors find that there are advantages to looking at the development of divorce as a history in which multiple empirical factors are examined in conjunction, recognizing that these factors played different roles during different time periods.     

New evidence on the introduction,cultivation and processing of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) in southern Sweden

Subfossil remains of Cannabis sativa L. (hemp) have been found at Lindängelund in the region of Malmö, southern Sweden. These represent the earliest robust evidence so far for hemp retting in Scandinavia. Finds of seeds, stems and pollen of C. sativa from a waterlogged context on a settlement dating to the Roman Iron Age demonstrate that the plant was locally cultivated and processed during the 1st–2nd centuries AD. An introductory phase in Scandinavia is proposed (c. AD 1–400) during which the cultivation of hemp was apparently small scale and processing was probably carried out within settlements. In the succeeding centuries, c. AD 400–550 (the Migration Period), remains of hemp are mostly found in pollen records from lake sediments, and less frequently in the archaeological record. This could indicate that the process of hemp retting relocated from settlements to lakes shores where activity became larger in scale and more integrated with the prevailing agricultural system.     

The ontogeny of Ellipsocephalus (Trilobita) and systematic position of Ellipsocephalidae

Laibl, L., Fatka, O., Budil, P., Ahlberg, P., Szabad, M., Voká?, V. & Kozák, V., 24.3.2015. The ontogeny of Ellipsocephalus (Trilobita) and systematic position of Ellipsocephalidae. Alcheringa 39, 477–487. ISSN 0311-5518.

Well-preserved early holaspid stages of the Cambrian Series 3 trilobites Ellipsocephalus hoffi (Schlotheim, 1823) and Ellipsocephalus polytomus Linnarsson, 1877 have been discovered in the P?íbram-Jince Basin (Czech Republic) and Jämtland (Sweden), respectively. Both species show remarkable morphological changes during late ontogeny. The earliest holaspides share long genal spines, and long macrospines on the second thoracic segment. Whereas macrospines disappear abruptly in later stages, genal spines are progressively shortened. Consequently, the ontogeny of trilobites of Ellipsocephalidae is revised. The morphology of early meraspid cranidia and ontogenetic patterns in the disappearance of macrospines suggest that this family is closely related to members of Redlichiida rather than Ptychopariida.

Luká? Laibl [lukaslaibl@gmail.com] and Old?ich Fatka [fatka@natur.cuni.cz], Charles University, Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Albertov 6, 128 43, Prague 2, Czech Republic; Petr Budil [petr.budil@geology.cz], Czech Geological Survey, Klárov 3, Prague 1, 118 21, Czech Republic; Per Ahlberg [per.ahlberg@geol.lu.se], Department of Geology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden; Michal Szabad [geosz.pb@seznam.cz], Obránc? míru 75, 261 02 P?íbram VII, Czech Republic; Václav Voká? [lichas@seznam.cz], Ke Kuka?ce 21, 312 00 Pilsen, Czech Republic; Vladislav Kozák [vlada.kozak@tiscali.cz], K Moravině 11/1689, 190 00 Prague 9, Czech Republic.     

Comments on the Guovdageaidnu seminar

Sammendrag

Forfatteren var selv en av deltakerne på NAVF's forskningsseminar i Kautokeino om minoritetsforskning sett fra humanistisk og samfunnsvitenskapelig side. I denne artikkelen gjør han rede for målsettinga med seminaret, som var en del av Forskningsrådets program for samisk og kvensk språk, historie og kultur. Han tar her saerlig for seg de grunnlagsproblem og forskningsetiske problem som generelt reiser seg i forskning som gjelder minoritets‐befolkninger, og setter seminaret i sammenheng med en pågående debatt ført av filosofer og sosialantropologer. Avslutningsvis gir forfatteren også en kortfattet vurdering av innleggene på seminaret sett i et slikt forskningsperspektiv. Hans eget innlegg på seminaret stod trykt i Acta Borealia nr. 1 1984.     

THE ROLE OF DEFENSE CUTS IN THE CALIFORNIA RECESSION COMPUTABLE GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM MODELS AND INTERSTATE FACTOR MOBILITY*

ABSTRACT. This study develops a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of California to examine the impact of recent defense cuts on the state's economy. The study demonstrates use of a CGE model to examine the sensitivity of regional economy models to assumptions about factor migration. Model variants include input-output and closed economy models as limiting cases. The results show that the California economy is sensitive to defense cuts. The multiplier relating the impact of defense cuts to state product ranges from one to almost five, depending on the degree of interstate factor mobility.     

Reforming Local Government Policymaking and Management Through Organizational Learning and Experimentation

This article presents two ongoing programs of local government reform in Norway, the Free Commune Program and the Pilot Commune Program. These programs are fairly typical of thinking on local government development in the Nordic countries at the moment. On the one hand, the welfare states are seen as being in danger of becoming overloaded. On the other hand, local government is seen as being in need of developing a capacity to respond better to local communities; consequently, national regulations have to become less standardized in order to allow for greater local adaptability and more variation. The emergent municipal organizational models reflect a more community-oriented approach to local government and a deemphasis on local governments as distributive channels for central ministries. A New Nordic Welfare Model is emerging with more emphasis on local initiatives.