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Projects 2009-2013
Programme Projects
- Integration and pluralism in the future society
Integration is a key issue in the European welfare states, but what are the prospects for social and political integration in a society marked by increasing ethnic diversity? The problems of deficient integration is well known, among policymakers as well as among social scientists. Still, the present scarcity of knowledge does not permit us to identify any obvious links to improved equality and participation. The aim of this programme is to contribute to the public debate on how the future integration policy should be designed. Based on broad cross-disciplinary analyses, we will put forward new empirical questions on the consequences of globalisation. Further, we will develop research collaboration with Swedish university institutions on issues related to ethnicity, racism, integration and migration
- Social exclusion – causes and effects
Poverty, social exclusion and marginalisation are major issues on the political agenda in Sweden and in the EU. This research theme focuses primarily on two broad problem areas: the dynamics of social exclusion and housing segregation. Extending our knowledge within these areas is important, not least from a future perspective. In the short run we know that a large cohort of young people on its way in and the large cohort of people born in the 1940s on its way out. As a consequence, a deeper understanding of the labour market establishment process is warranted. In the long run these areas are important as well, because basic welfare issues are involved and because extended knowledge gives us a clearer idea of what the institutions of a society can do to counter marginalisation and social exclusion.
- Welfare state financing
Economic globalisation and demographic change are two trends that challenge our ability to sustainably finance the welfare states of the future. Greater economic integration is heightening the mobility of some tax bases and increasing the costs of taxation. An ageing society brings growing demands for the redistribution of resources between generations. Comparative methods enable researchers to analyse the consequences of institutional choices. The institutional analysis of tax regimes complements the study of inter-generational wealth distribution and provides an entry to the study of tax policy development and its various effects. In addition, historical and comparative studies of the growth and evolution of tax regimes are an integral part of the theme itself. The recognition that taxes are in a constant state of change offers good opportunities to learn from historical examples of obstacles to and driving forces behind reforms.
- Futures studies on futures studies
The Institute has adopted an interdisciplinary perspective; we generally address major issues that lie ahead and try to promote public debate about our common future. A basic approach in many of our studies is that we are not primarily aiming at establishing what the future will be like, but identifying opportunities, alternatives and scope for action. The specific programme on Futures studies is a three year effort to raise issues on the nature of futures studies. We will increase our understanding of theories and methods and further establish national and international networks within the field of futures. We will also conduct “meta-studies’ of futures studies. They contribute to the development of methods and theory in the futures studies field, and to the critical examination of the knowledge base on which futures analysis rests.
Development Projects
- Effects of climate change
Climate change and climate politics is increasingly considered as major drivers for social and economic change in the future. Issues of sustainability and vulnerability, what groups and areas will be affected, new patterns of migration, transport, urban planning, land use, etc. are all key issues. Initially we will approach climate change through studying the future of the Swedish forests, forestry and rural development. On a global scale, climate change is likely to affect forestry and forests in various ways; as increased competition over land use, as de-forestation, increased plantation, changing markets for forest products etc. These forestry trends will be investigated as a part of a broad Mistra-programme Future forests in collaboration with Swedish Agricultural University, Umeå University and Skogforsk.
- Effects of technological development
There are great needs for research on the social impacts of technological development and society’s ability to affect these conditions. Futures studies have a tradition of examining the future social repercussions of technological development, positive as well as negative. The digital revolution is an example: while democratisation of knowledge and transparency of events is improved through increased access and more effective means of dissemination, inadequate source criticism and the potential for control, propaganda and crime can contribute to social development. Major infrastructural investment in areas such as broadband, wireless communication, transport systems and, not least, energy systems, is essential to technological development. Many of the projects undertaken at the Institute are clearly concerned with issues related to Sweden’s infrastructure, for example when it comes to transport and IT.
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Gender, care and the life cycle
There are certain important, all-pervading issues which every society must take a stance on. One such is gender relations. Gender relations are characterised by both change and continuity, and gender equality remains an issue of major relevance for the future.
The Institute’s researchers have begun to focus the spotlight on family life, gender equality and care from a life-cycle perspective. Swedish society is now facing challenges that stem from the very conformation of everyday life and relations between men and women. Long-term trends in this sphere include an ageing population and a declining proportion of children. At the same time welfare state institutions are coming under pressure, not least with regard to the financing of social welfare services. A challenging question for the future is how care needs will be met in a landscape of new family relations and social welfare institutions, with sustained welfare both for those who need care and those who provide it. What trends are discernible with regard to the division of responsibilities between families and welfare institutions and between women and men in paid and unpaid care provision in tomorrow’s Sweden? What will these processes mean for the relations between the sexes?
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National and global migration
Migration is a significant event that not only affects the life of the individual migrant but also has an impact on the society that receives him/her and the society he/she came from. A consequence of the social importance of this phenomenon is a growing demand for knowledge about migration, the driving forces behind it and its effects at individual and societal level. In this development project we undertake migration research that both deals with migration within Sweden and between Sweden and other countries.
Profile Areas
- Population and the economy
The demographic composition of the population is of great importance to the function of society and economy in a country. Due to the inertia in population change we are able to foresee with good accuracy how the ageing in the population will progress. From research on the connection for example between economic growth and the age structure of the population it is then also feasible to forecast long-term economic developments. Sweden is now entering a phase where the large cohorts born in the 1940s will retire and a new large birth cohort will enter adulthood. This will lead to pressure on the public budget both by increased expenditure and decreased revenue. The intergenerational resource flows that creates our welfare will change within the next decade and the research at the Institute clarify the options to respond.
- Regions in transition
The Institute has established a strong tradition of geographically based futures studies, affording a significant, broad-based body of expertise on spatial aspects of the organisation of public administration. For this period these studies will be directed towards the transformation of the public sector; the transformation of local authorities, regions and the state. “New state spaces” is a concept covering the activities in the programme; from studies of the political changing political geography to internet as a driver for re-scaling. The basis for these studies is the project Sweden’s New Geography, funded by the Swedish Research Council, which will be undertaken in 2008–2011.
- Children’s and young people’s living and family conditions
A society needs children, and therefore the conditions under which children live and grow up are important issues when it comes to discussions on and planning for the future. Children have, however, little say in the decisions which affect their situation; they are dependent on their parents and on the relationship between state and family, and between state and the individual. During the late 20th century terms like ‘child perspective’ and ‘in the best interest of the child’ have had an impact on the public debate and children’s status has changed in some respects. However, the development also displays other tendencies: increasing class differences in certain areas, regional disparities, and difficulties for young people to enter the labour market. Increasing demands on childhood and parenthood also involve new challenges for families and for society.
- Social policy and deprivation
The transformation of welfare institutions was the underlying theme of a number of projects forming part of the Institute’s most recent research programmes and thereby constitutes an important intellectual resource base for our activities. Social policy is naturally concerned with gaps or inadequacies in the social welfare system. In the aftermath of the economic crisis of the 1990s, there are indications of a polarisation of welfare distribution, both in time and space. Although the first decade of the 21st century has seen an average improvement in living conditions, there is clear empirical evidence of increased, or deeper, deprivation for some smaller groups. Deprivation appears to have decreased in the early 2000s among groups that experienced unfavourable development in welfare terms in the 1990s. This trend coincided with a rise in the number of people with many simultaneous welfare problems.
- The ‘European social model’
The Institute and its researchers have, in different ways, participated in the ensuing dialogue about the European social model and its future. The researchers of the Institute participate in a number of Nordic, European and other international networks that in various ways deal with a common issue; how to combine social and economic development objectives. In connection to this, the Institute has pursued a number of projects that deal with economic and social policy in a development perspective. Here, the relevance of European and Swedish experiences have been important and we have collaborated with a number of international organisations, such as UNRISD, IOM, ECLAC, UNDP and UNPFA, as well as national organisations.
Besides the projects within the research programme there are:
- Sustainable Taxes: Centre for Comparative Tax Studies
The future challenges of risk-insurance and intergenerational redistribution constitutes the central theme for this centre for comparative tax studies. Affiliated to the centre are researchers concerned with these and related issues. Two research projects are included in the centre; Sustainable taxes in a global context and Social rights and migration.
- Other projects
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| Updated 2010-07-02 |
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