An economic crisis is what Sweden needs

A fancy headline? Quite so. But there is something missing in our dear and increasingly globally competitive Sweden - a sense of the seriousness of the moment.

Yesterday, we launched a new report on digital service companies and their market conditions. On the same day, Ericsson is laying off more than 1,500 people, or just under 10% of its workforce in Sweden. They are cutting across the board. Production, administration, research and development. Purpose - to create competitiveness.

The companies we interviewed in our report all say the same thing. Sweden is a great country to do business in, but the world is not standing still. On the contrary, many other countries, both near and far, are pushing ahead. In a world where companies as well as labor are more mobile than ever, where investments are increasingly made in human capital and soft assets, the vulnerability of those countries and regions that do not create the best market conditions is great. Probably greater than we in Sweden have realized.

A sense of the seriousness of the moment. It's not noticeable here. But it is in virtually all the countries with which our exporting companies compete. Major investments are being made in technical education, intellectual property systems are being reformed, and the public sector is increasingly seen as a growth-supporting resource. To name a few examples. All to create competitiveness and contribute to increased growth and new jobs.

At the same time, interest in mathematics and technology education in Sweden is steadily declining. The public market (half the market) is basically closed to small, digital service companies and export support is tailored to established, goods-producing companies. To name a few examples.

Knowledge-intensive service companies are responsible for the majority of new jobs in Sweden. They hold the greatest potential for growth. And yet we know so little about their needs, and how society can better support them.

Our contribution is the 21 proposals for action presented yesterday.

Hopefully, they can help raise awareness and create competitive conditions that allow digital service companies to expand in Sweden, rather than downsize and relocate to other latitudes.