Descriptions of Inequality: The Swedish Approach to Welfare Research

Abstract

By the 1950s it had already become clear that, in spite of its widespread use, per capita GNP is an insufficient measure of the well‐being of citizens. Thus, in 1954, an expert group within the United Nations suggested that we should not rely on monetary measures alone: the measurement of well‐being should be based on several different components, together making up the level of living.1 Partly influenced by the UN expert group, Johansson made level of living, seen as a set of components, the basic concept in the first Swedish Level of Living Survey conducted in 1968.2 This survey has been followed by a number of similar studies, both in Sweden and in the other Nordic countries. To exemplify the Swedish approach to welfare research, I will here use the first survey from 1968 and its direct followers, conducted by the Swedish Institute for Social Research in 1974 and 1981. Apart from minor details, however, what I say also applies to what has been done by the Swedish Central Statistical Office as well as by other Scandinavian research organizations.