ABSTRACT
The exposé in this book of different public management reforms in Scandinavia has been centred on Sweden. It is shown how Sweden is changing in terms of public-sector organization and influence over the Swedish population. This chapter reflects on the different examples given in the book, to see what they make of Sweden as a guiding light in an ever-changing public sector. As a consequence of one of the typical signifiers of Sweden, transparency, we are able to tell what it looks like from the inside. A reform pattern emerges. Here we do not aim at any outright evaluation, though; it would be like ‘nailing a pudding on the wall’ (Bovaird and Löffler, 2003, p. 316, in Pollitt, 2011). Rather, we consider this reflection an updating contribution to different accounts previously made of Swedish public-sector management and reforms. The chapter begins with a look at some general views on Sweden and its public sector, meant to form a contrasting background to what we have described in this book. Descriptions are reflected upon in terms of the willingness, ability and approach to change, which the Swedish public-sector institutions have fostered. These traits have created a wide variety of new ways to manage the public sector, whether at the central or local level. In conclusion, Cox’s (2004) description of what constitutes the Scandinavian welfare model – universality, solidarity and market independence – will be re-examined as we try to interpret where modern public management may take us.
