The Market Center Blog

Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation

For Immediate Release
Monday, March 8, 2010
202-285-0244
www.freedomandprosperity.org

New CF&P "Economics 101" Video
Outlines the Lessons Learned From Sweden's Experiment with Socialism

(Washington, D.C., Monday, March 8, 2010) In a new "Economics 101" video released today by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation (CF&P), Lotta Moberg, graduate student at Lund University, Sweden, explains that the economy of Sweden began to stagnate about 40 years ago because of excessive statism and government spending. Ms. Moberg then discusses how her country, beginning in the 1990s, began a shift back toward economic freedom. Entitled, "Economics 101: Learning From Sweden's Free Market Renaissance," the video reviews these two dramatic shifts in policy.   

The video highlights the following lessons learned:

1) Smaller Government Boosts Growth
2) Economic Tinkering Hurts Rather than Helps
3) Free Trade is Good For Prosperity
4) Policies that Supposedly Help Workers Actually Cause Unemployment

Links to the video:  YouTube | Yahoo | Capitol Hub

This new video is part of CF&P's Economics 101 video series, which is designed to explain free market concepts, with particular emphasis on reaching students and young people. This is the fourth video in the Economics 101 series. Link to all videos:
http://www.freedomandprosperity.org/econ101/econ101.shtml

"The Swedish model demonstrates that big government and needless regulations undermine prosperity," said CF&P President Andrew Quinlan. "This is true even in nations that became rich when the burden of government was very small."

"Sweden teaches an important lesson about the dangers of statism," added Dan Mitchell, Cato Institute Senior Fellow and Chairman of CF&P.  "Unfortunately, many American politicians seemed determined to repeat Sweden's mistakes."

Executive Summary

Sweden is a powerful example of the importance of public policy. The Nordic nation became rich between 1870 and 1970 when government was very small, but then began to stagnate as welfare state policies were implemented in the 1970s and 1980s. The CF&P Foundation video explains that Sweden is now shifting back to economic freedom in hopes of undoing the damage caused by an excessive welfare state.

Links to other Economics 101 Videos:

1. Don't Copy Europe's Mistakes: Less Government Is the Right Way to Fix Healthcare
   http://www.freedomandprosperity.org/videos/euro-miistakes/euro-miistakes.sht ml
    
2. Moral Hazard
   http://www.freedomandprosperity.org/econ101/moralhazard/moralhazard.shtml
    
3. Government Monopolies
   http://www.freedomandprosperity.org/econ101/monopolies/monopolies.shtml

CF&P Foundation has also released more than two-dozen mini-documentaries since 2007. These videos include Tax Competition Primer, VAT-Hidden Tax, Global Flat Tax Revolution, Cutting the U.S. Corporate Income Tax, Promoting Prosperity, Obama's So-Called Stimulus, Obama's Deferral Proposal, Case Against Class-Warfare Tax Policy, President Obama's Dishonest Demagoguery on Tax Havens, a three part series on the Benefits of Tax Havens and a another three-part series on the Laffer Curve.
Link: http://www.freedomandprosperity.org/videos/videos.shtml

Web Links to Learning From Sweden Video

Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENDE8ve35f0

Yahoo
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/7112999/18512837

Capitol Hub
http://capitolhub.com/video/9250/economics-101-learning-sweden%E2%80%9 9s-free-market-renaissance

For additional comments:
Andrew Quinlan can be reached at 202-285-0244, andy@freedomandprosperity.org
Dan Mitchell can be reached at 202-218-4615, dmitchell@cato.org

###

Return Home