Economia
That country is my own country, Sweden—less than 150 years ago.
At that time Sweden was incredibly poor—and hungry. When there was a crop failure, my ancestors in northern Sweden, in Ångermanland, had to mix bark into the bread because they were short of flour. Life in towns and cities was no easier. Overcrowding and a lack of health services, sanitation, and refuse disposal claimed lives every day. Well into the twentieth century, an ordinary Swedish working-class family with five children might have to live in one room and a kitchen, which doubled as a dining room and bedroom. Many people lodged with other families. Housing statistics from Stockholm show that in 1900, as many as 1,400 people could live in a building consisting of 200 one-room flats. In conditions like these it is little wonder that disease was rife. People had large numbers of children not only for lack of contraception, but also because of the risk that not many would survive for long.
As Vilhelm Moberg, our greatest author, observed when he wrote a history of the Swedish people: “Of all the wondrous adventures of the Swedish people, none is more remarkable and wonderful than this: that it survived all of them.”
Mais
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Economia
Como Suecia econtrou o caminho da prosperidade
How Laissez-Faire Made Sweden Rich
Sweden often gets held up as an example of how socialism can work better than markets. But, as Norberg shows, Sweden's history in fact points to the opposite conclusion.
Once upon a time I got interested in theories of economic development because I had studied a low-income country, poorer than Congo, with life expectancy half as long and infant mortality three times as high as the average developing country.That country is my own country, Sweden—less than 150 years ago.
At that time Sweden was incredibly poor—and hungry. When there was a crop failure, my ancestors in northern Sweden, in Ångermanland, had to mix bark into the bread because they were short of flour. Life in towns and cities was no easier. Overcrowding and a lack of health services, sanitation, and refuse disposal claimed lives every day. Well into the twentieth century, an ordinary Swedish working-class family with five children might have to live in one room and a kitchen, which doubled as a dining room and bedroom. Many people lodged with other families. Housing statistics from Stockholm show that in 1900, as many as 1,400 people could live in a building consisting of 200 one-room flats. In conditions like these it is little wonder that disease was rife. People had large numbers of children not only for lack of contraception, but also because of the risk that not many would survive for long.
As Vilhelm Moberg, our greatest author, observed when he wrote a history of the Swedish people: “Of all the wondrous adventures of the Swedish people, none is more remarkable and wonderful than this: that it survived all of them.”
Mais
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After a decade of fast growth and rising incomes, Brazil has hit a rough patch that is testing its government’s ability to manage the economy and satisfy the growing aspirations of its people. President Dilma Rousseff, who faces elections next year,...
- O Caminho Sueco
Reforma do estado de bem-estar Under Borg, Sweden handled the downturn in the most un-European way. "While most countries in Europe borrowed massively, Borg did not. Since becoming Sweden's finance minister, his mission has been to pare back government....
- As Vinte Regras Para Tornar-se Bilionário
1. Figure out what you're so passionate about that you'd be happy doing it for 10 years, even if you never made any money from it. That's what you should be doing.2. Always be true to yourself.3. Figure out what your values are and live by...
- Balanço De Jackson Hole
Para o leitor desavisado deste blog, o título deste post não se refere ao título de um filme pornô, mas à avaliação do encontro anual de central bankers e economistas em Jackson Hole, Wyoming, feita por Justin Yifu Lin. Como um expert em desenvolvimento...
-
Quem mexeu no meu queijo e outras bobagens Um bom artigo no Doublethink sobre as fraquezas (nos próprios argumentos) destes best-sellers de livraria de aeroporto. Vale a pena ler. AFF's Doublethink :: Who Moved My Cheese? and the Meaning of...