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International Management - Rodchenko VV

Organizational forms of enterprises in Sweden

The existing economic system in Sweden is usually characterized as a mixed economy. It is based on market relations on a competitive basis with the active use of state regulation, which is the economic basis of the Swedish model. The mixed economy is understood as the combination, correlation and interaction of the basic forms of property in the capitalist market economy of Sweden: private, state and cooperative. Each of these forms has occupied a certain "niche" and fulfills its functions in the overall system of economic and social interrelations. The vast majority (about 85%) of all Swedish companies employing more than 50 people. Belongs to private capital. Private enterprises account for 75% of the employed in the manufacturing sector, 8% of whom work in foreign-owned firms. The rest of the employed is in the state and in cooperatives (11-13% each). The public sector expanded, and the share of the cooperative almost did not change since 1965.

Private companies

The leading role in the production of goods and services in Sweden is played by the private sector. Within its framework, it is possible to single out large capital dominating in industries that determine export specialization (primarily in manufacturing). The rest of the private sector consists of small and medium-sized firms. By this criterion, private companies can be divided into 2 groups. One includes many small firms, in which the founder, owner and managing director are often one and the same person. The other group includes large companies registered on the stock exchange. Over the past decades, the ownership structure of this group has undergone great changes. The share of shares belonging to households (households) and private individuals decreased significantly from 47% in 1975 to 21% in 1985, while insurance, investment and non-financial companies, funds, including the State Universal Pension Fund The Fund (VFR) increased significantly from 53% in 1975 to almost 80% at the beginning of the 1990s (including 7% owned by foreigners). In the post-war period, the share of very large individual shareholders declined from 70% in 1951 to about 20% in 1985, primarily as a result of high rates of income and property taxes.

Thus, institutional ownership largely replaced private individuals. Currently, the 20 largest owners of portfolios of shares are institutions. Particularly increased the share of non-financial, investment and insurance companies, which in 1989 accounted for respectively 14, 15 and 10%.

At the same time, the number of Swedes owning shares increased sharply. This is explained both by the reduction of the portfolios of shares of private individual owners, and by the rapid growth in the number of companies registered on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

An important role was played by the emergence of a new group of individual shareholders after the establishment in 1978 of various joint-stock investment funds. Savings in these so-called universal funds managed by banks or firms received a variety of tax subsidies from the government. Until 1984, depositors had a 30% discount from taxes on their annual savings in addition to non-tax-deductible dividends and an increase in the value of shares. In 1984, the tax rebate was abolished, but the remaining incentives remained. In 1985, these investment funds accounted for 6% of all shares, and this share continued to grow.

The economy of Sweden is characterized by a high level of concentration of production and capital, as well as monopolization in leading industries. At large enterprises (employing more than 500 people), approximately 40% of those employed in industry are concentrated, and 17% are concentrated in small enterprises (up to 50 people). At the same time, the growth of concentration is manifested primarily at the level of large firms. In one of the 20 largest companies, over 40% of the labor force in industry works. The 200 largest companies account for 75% of Sweden's production, employment, investment and exports.

In the Swedish economy, monopolization of production is very high, especially in such specialized industries as the production of ball bearings (GFR), automotive industry (Volvo and SAAB-Scania), electrical engineering (Electrolux, ABB, Ericsson), woodworking and Pulp and paper industry (Sven Cellulose, Stura, Mu-Dumchet, etc.), aircraft construction (SAAB-Scania), pharmaceuticals (Astra, Pharmacia), production of special steels (Sandvik, , "Avesta").

State-owned enterprises

The most important function of the public sector in Sweden is the accumulation and redistribution of significant funds for social and economic purposes. The public sector has two levels of property owners: the central government and local (municipal) authorities. The lower level is sometimes singled out in the communal form of ownership. They, together constituting a unitary form of ownership, differ both in place in the sphere of the economy and in the scale of activity (in each individual case, but not in the aggregate).

The public sector and state ownership are different concepts. Under state ownership, it is customary to understand enterprises that are wholly or partly owned by the state. The share of state property in Sweden is very low, but in terms of the size of the public sector, which can be described as the amount of government intervention in economic life, Sweden ranks first among the developed countries.

The size of the public sector can be measured in terms of the proportion of government spending, consumption and taxes in GDP, as well as the population employed in the public sector. In 1988, it employed 31% of the working population, state consumption accounted for 30% of GDP, and public investment - 3%. The share of government expenditures, including consumption, investment and transfers, in 1990 reached more than 60% of GDP. It increased from 33% in 1960 to 45% in 1970, 50% in 1975 and 67% in 1982 (this is a record of the capitalist world), and then declined somewhat. Over the past decades, the public sector has increased in all countries, but in Sweden - the most active.

The communal property is limited and legally permitted in the sphere of public services and housing construction.

Nationalized enterprises are mainly concentrated in raw materials (mining, ferrous metallurgy), as well as in shipbuilding, utilities and transport. In these industries, nationalized or state-owned enterprises account for more than half of all goods and services. Their main goal is to expand production with profitability. However, the end of the 1970s was characterized by unprofitable expansion, especially after the coalition bourgeois government nationalized in 1977 shipbuilding and metallurgical private companies and their further merger as a result of the structural crisis in these industries in order to preserve employment. The government actively subsidized these companies as long as the Social Democrats returned to power in 1982 did not end the policy of "feeding lame ducks."

State ownership takes the form of either joint-stock companies or state-owned enterprises. The latter have considerable freedom of action in financial and personnel matters. Decisions in the field of prices are also taken by them independently. They must take costs and make a profit on the invested capital.

Established in 1977 for the cooperation of state enterprises, the holding "Statsferegtag" was reorganized in 1983, when a group of large companies engaged in the extraction and processing of raw materials came out of it, and the remaining ones entered a firm called "Procordia". Now it unites about 15 firms of the chemical, pharmaceutical, brewing industry, mechanical engineering, manufacture of consumer goods and services. In 1987, the number of employees in the "Procordia" was 25 thousand people.

In addition to the "Prokordia" state and mixed enterprises are the mining company LKAB, pulp and paper ASSI and NSC, metallurgical "Sven steel", shipbuilding "Celsius" and commercial bank "Nurdbanken". In the early 90's, the number of employees in these firms was more than 50 thousand people, and in state-owned companies - about 160 thousand people.

Enterprises with state management are designed to fulfill special purposes and in some cases are legally monopolies. Post and communication - the two largest state monopolies - account for more than 60% of all employed in state-owned enterprises. Another important area is transport. Swedish state railways account for 95% of all railways in Sweden, and employ 33 thousand people. About half of the electricity production is accounted for by the state enterprise "Wattenfall". In recent years, it has also engaged in research on new (sun, wind and water) and traditional (coal, peat and natural gas) energy sources.

The central government has a decisive impact on the economy of the country through various economic instruments, the main of which is the state budget.

In Sweden, more than 50% of public expenditure is made up of transfer payments, that is, the transfer of income to the private sector (households and enterprises), including pensions, housing subsidies, child benefits, agricultural and industrial subsidies. This includes payments of interest on public debt.

The funds remaining after the deduction of transfer payments from general government expenditures are state consumption and investment. State consumption accounts for about 90% of the remaining amount, including almost 2/3 of it spent on health care, education, state administration, etc. Most of the state consumption consists of salaries of civil servants - medical workers, teachers, Health care, social services, environmental protection (about 30%), education (about 21%), electricity and water supply (12%), leisure and culture (5%), transport and communications (5%).

The basis of the Swedish social insurance system is various types of social benefits, which are also an important policy tool for distribution. In 1988, the amount of transfers to households from the social insurance sector was 109 billion kroons, including more than 50% for pensions. In total, the expenditures of the social insurance sector reached 134 billion kroons.

Financing of public expenditure in Sweden is complex. Different parts of the public sector have their own sources of income. In addition, the communes and the social insurance sector receive subsidies, mainly from the central government. For the latter, the main source of income is indirect income.

In 1988, taxes and social insurance contributions paid to the state amounted to 340 billion kroons, or 90% of all revenues of the central government (378 billion kroons). Indirect taxes account for 50% of this amount, taxes on social insurance - 15%.

For local authorities, the main source of financing is income taxes (60%). State transfers to communes in 1990 amounted to about 70 billion kroons, which is 25% of their income and are subsidies to communes with low taxes, compensation for losses from taxation, aid and subsidies for investment.

In the social services sector, the contributions of entrepreneurs and workers to social insurance are the main source of income.

The public sector is the most developed in the service sector. In social services, which constitute half of the entire service sector, the state share is 92%, in education and research and development - 88.7%, social insurance - 98.2%. In general, according to statistics, the state accounts for 49% of the employed in the services sector, and taking into account state-owned companies - 56%.

The public sector is an important source of increasing the efficiency of the economy. This is facilitated, for example, by the good quality of such important public services as transport and communications, the education system, and low costs for them. This clearly manifests the interaction of the private and public sectors - the growth of income from the first through tax and other revenues to the state budget is used to increase primarily public services to the population, which in turn contributes to a more efficient economy, which is based on the private sector.

Cooperatives

An important role in the development of the Swedish economy is played by the cooperative movement. It is distributed throughout the country and has a strong position. Cooperatives contributed to the transformation of Sweden from an agrarian country into an industrialized, prosperous one. The role of cooperatives in agriculture, industry, retail trade, housing construction and other spheres of activity is great.

Cooperatives are divided into production and consumer. Production cooperatives with a number of employed about 50 thousand people. Dominate the production of milk and meat and occupy an important place in the production of other products, as well as in the pulp and paper industry. Consumer cooperatives with a total employment of 70 thousand people, of which about half are in the top two, play an important role in retail trade.

In a mixed economy, the cooperative movement acts as a "third force", or a third alternative to private and public property, based on the principles of democracy and using broad popular support. In some areas - especially among consumer cooperatives - cooperation has become a balancing force in the market in the interests of ordinary people, for example, in matters of pricing. In the past, consumer cooperatives withstood many "battles" with private cartels. This role they play now, albeit in less dramatic forms.

Cooperatives in Sweden account for 5% of industrial production, 7.5% of employment in industry, 14% in retail trade and 5% of the total working population. In Sweden, more than 65% of households are connected with cooperatives. Consumer cooperatives account for 20% of sales of everyday goods. From 50 to 70% of food consumed in Sweden is produced by farmers who are members of cooperatives, and for milk and meat this proportion is 99 and 80%, respectively.

The term " cooperative " usually refers to the economic concept, based on joint actions and mutual assistance. A cooperative enterprise must have a direct link to the needs and economic interests of its members. Among the principles of the cooperative movement, we distinguish the following: the freedom of membership - no one can be excluded, except in cases of violation of the charter; Independence from political parties and religion; Democratic governance - "one member - one vote"; Restriction of incomes on the enclosed share, cooperative society - association of people, and not capital; Accumulation of capital for development and economic independence; Educational activities; Interaction of cooperatives.

The cooperative movement arose in Sweden in the second half of the 19th century. But the decisive breakthrough occurred in the 90s of the XIX century. And the decades following it, as a result of the industrial revolution and the emergence of a growing working class in the new urban areas. The cooperative movement found support among members of other popular movements: "free", religious, sobriety, peasant, worker - in the person of its political and trade union parts. In the years 1896-1899. There were more than 200 new consumer cooperative associations. In 1899 they formed a cooperative union.

The Cooperative Union is the national organization of the Swedish self-governing societies of consumer cooperatives. The number of members of these societies has gradually increased, and the number of societies has significantly decreased as a result of mergers: from 950 in 1920 to 120 in 1991. Societies vary in the number of members from 306,000 to 67,000. In total, there are 2 million people in consumer cooperatives in Sweden. The Cooperative Union is engaged in trade, production, banking, publishing, tourism and educational activities. It has more than 80 trade outlets, including abroad, a number of food processing plants, in particular flour mills, bakeries, meat packaging, breweries and cans, as well as several industrial enterprises.

The scope of activity of enterprises is wide; In addition to the mentioned there are housing, insurance, tourist, automobile and even funeral cooperatives.

Thus, cooperatives play a very important role in modern Swedish society. But what happened in the 50's and 60's

XX century. Shifts to the consolidation of enterprises to reduce costs have had an impact on cooperatives, as well as on other types of business. This trend has seriously threatened democracy in cooperatives. В настоящее время кооперативное движение ищет пути усиления влияния рядовых членов на положение дел в кооперативах.