Borg on the mistakes behind the election defeat – Expressen

Here’s Anders Borg tips for how governments can implement structural reforms – and at the same time get re-elected.

“A hint: we did not follow the reform strategy which I sketch out,” writes Borg self-critical.

first The most important first.

The reforms that increase labor supply, decreasing job security and open protected markets to foreign competition means that some groups will get affected in the short term. But in the longer term it will instead real wages to rise and jobs are increasing for more than those who suffer in the short term. In addition, reforms to increase the state’s financial ability to fund election promises in the next election campaign.

“If reforms are implemented immediately after the election, there is space to spend in the re-election campaign,” the Borg.

second Keep it simple.

Focus on reforms that the government can control. Complicated changes in legislation risk getting stuck in the legal bureaucracy. Policy proposals that require cooperation with local politicians ground often broken at the local level or fail in general.

“The risk is greater to fail for all strategies based on the idea that unions and other interest groups should be constructive,” the Borg.

third Remember Keynes.

A successful economic policy must have a clear imprint of the economist John Maynard Keynes’ ideas, then the state should invest in bad times to boost the ekomin, but keep in coins during boom to smooth out the fluctuations.

Since the fiscal space is often limited, according to Anders Borg important to use monetary policy and exchange rates to stimulate the economy.

“The economic reforms I implemented in Sweden was undoubtedly well-balanced, but a substantial decline in the exchange rate between 2008 and 2010 did not hurt,” the Borg.

4th Do not lower taxes for the rich – at election time.

To the voters to accept structural reforms, it is important to think about how they beat against various groups. Some reforms have a greater positive effect on certain groups of income than others. If you get an equally high growth effect of lowering marginal tax rate for the highest income as a tax deduction for single moms, choose the latter, writes Borg.

“If you have to cut taxes for the rich, as we did with wealth tax in 2007, ensure that there is no choice at the time and try to combine it with other measures of wealth, “writes Anders Borg.

5th “May The Force Be With You”.

Anders Borg uses Star Wars phrase “May The Force Be With You” when he sums up his proposals and ask self-critically:

“But if these suggestions works, why am I not finance anymore?”.

He will then get back to it was a mistake to try to negotiate with the union on apprenticeship schemes for young people instead to “go forward with reforms the job security and other measures to make the labor market more flexible. “

” This is the most obvious explanation for why the government lost the elections in 2014, “writes Borg.

See more Show less