This article argues that unemployment benefits are providing a crucial but often overlooked function by reducing the insecurity associated with modern labor markets. Because job insecurity is associated with concerns about future financial security, economic support during unemployment may lessen the negative effects of job insecurity on employed…

This article deals with how the increasing use of notions such as "risk awareness" and "blame" in relation to school affects the daily work of Swedish teachers. With the help of empirical excerpts from documents and focus group interviews, the authors provide examples of how the introduction of the risk society and audit…

For mature industrialized nations to meet the challenge of shifting to a high value added technology base, excellence in three areas is needed: (1) education, (2) labor market performance, and (3) social insurance. A Swedish proposal that would allow individuals to take responsibility for their own future is the individual educational investment…

This report surveys the various provisions made by the Swedish government to protect and insure the rights of its children. Topics discussed include: the legal status of children born in or out of wedlock; custody and guardianship, economic status of the child (children's allowances, social insurance, maternity benefits, inheritance); the child at…

Twelve financial institutions (nine banks and three insurance companies) from five countries (France, West Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the United States) were studied to determine the directions in which financial service markets and firms are moving as a result of increasing competition and technological change. Data were collected from…