TIMBRO KUNGSGATAN 60
BOX 3037, SE-103 61 STOCKHOLM
TEL +46.8.587.898.00

Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Timbro is a think-tank devoted to innovating economic and social policies founded on free-market principles. For over 25 years Timbro has helped to incubate the ideas and shape the opinions that guide Swedish enterprise.

Timbro faced an uphill battle in its nascence. The Swedish political topography was dominated by groups espousing socialization, collectivist economic planning and heavy taxation. Enterprise, private ownership and market economies were deemed, at best, lackluster phenomena. At worst, these concepts were to be stricken from the vocabulary of political discourse.

But change loomed on the horizon. Following intense debate in the 1980s over political ideologies and systems, the country’s socialist ambitions began to take a back seat. Sweden instead embraced deregulation and lowered taxes. More, the country earned international recognition for initiating a string of reforms ushering in greater freedom of choice. Today, most observers would aver that Sweden has evolved into a relatively mainstream Western European country. In fact, pundits and thinkers from around the world have hailed the Swedish model—peaceful coexistence between a vibrant system of enterprise and an ambitious socialist state—as a smashing success.

Timbro takes particular issue with the penultimate point. For one thing, the vast state apparatus places far too many constraints on its citizens, which in turn prevents Sweden from capitalizing fully on opportunities put before it. Too many businesses never get off the ground; too many people languish on the labor market’s sidelines; too many potentially beneficial initiatives never leave the drawing board.

Sweden has a serious but difficult problem to diagnose. The country’s economic and social life are relatively undynamic and unresponsive, and complacency is setting in. The “culture of opportunity” is giving way to a debilitating “culture of entitlement.”

At the same time, we are witnessing dramatic, tectonic change in the form of globalization. Indeed, across the globe countless political decisions are made to foster business and stimulate trade. Since the mid-1990s, however, Sweden has taken a hiatus from reform. The Swedish Government is averse to change and the political opposition has articulated only modest aims.

Taken together, this means that Timbro is needed more than ever. Once again it’s time to promote a classically liberal, free-market agenda. To this end, we will continue pursuing rigorous issue advocacy and opinion-shaping—that is, publishing books, reports and policy papers, as well as appearing in both the broadcast and print media.

Because Timbro’s activities are geared toward predominantly domestic audiences, the content of this website is delivered primarily in Swedish. However, Timbro does publish certain material in English and strives to keep its international audience abreast of upcoming events and publications. Click here for the latest news and views.

If you use an RSS or news reader, you can subscribe to our RSS feed for English-language news and updates. To subscribe, just right click on the RSS button in the left column and select “Copy Shortcut” or “Copy Link Location” to copy the location (URL) of the service. Follow the instructions for your particular news reader, and then paste this location wherever it asks for the location of the service to which you wish to subscribe.

Members of the media seeking comments on a specific issue or organizations interested in booking Timbro scholars for nonmedia events such as conferences, panels or lectures, may contact Director of Media Relations Billy McCormac.