ABSTRACT
In the decades after the Second World War, Sweden rode a general economic upswing that swept over the whole of the Western world. The industrial sector expanded and the rise in productivity led to a rapid improvement in the standard of living of Sweden’s citizens. At the same time, the low level of unemployment-supported by the wage solidarity policy and an increasingly ambitious social policy-ensured a more equitable distribution of this prosperity. Further, economic stability was an important feature of the 1950s and 1960s. Although inflation was a problem, it was no higher in Sweden than elsewhere. The stability of the economy was both a reason for and a consequence of Sweden’s enduring industrial peace. Seen from an international perspective, the number of days lost to strikes was very low and, year after year, national wage settlements were negotiated between the LO and the SAF as the central labour market organisations. These two organisations had the common objective of combining economic growth and low unemployment with low inflation and balance in both domestic and foreign trade.
