Currently there are about 3 700 contaminated sites that used to host commercial- and nursery gardens.  Mainly due to the extensive use of pesticides at these sites a great part of them now pose a significant environmental- and health risk. This study aimed to compare how Swedish municipalities has worked with the clean-up of contaminated soil at these kinds of sites. This has been done by sending out a questionnaire to the municipality’s environmental management office. This study’s results have indicated that the most used remediation technology was excavation. The methods relative speed and simplicity was the usual motivation behind this choice. The results also showed that mostly Swedish guideline values where used in the remediation process. Furthermore, the most common remediation goal at these sites was that the remediated soil would live up to the Swedish environmental protection agency’s guideline values for sensitive land usage. The most common answer regarding why their remediation goal was set was because of the planned or present land usage at the site. The most common method for initial risk assessment was the comparison of contamination levels from soil samples to relevant guideline values or based on previous risk classification. Finally, the results showed that in most cases where remedial action had been taken, contaminants had been left in the soil. The most common reason for this was because the remaining pollution levels did not exceed the guideline values. For the most part, Swedish municipalities have a coherent way of working with these problems.

This paper aims to study the correlation between the proportion of young people and climate policymaking on a local governmental level. This is measured by how the proportion of population under 18 in municipalities affectthe amount of carbon dioxide emission reducing actions and the budgeting towards institutions of environmental health, measured as a proportion to the yearly municipal budget, in respective municipality. To help unpack the results, two theoretical frameworks are used. First, Punctuated Equilibrium theory and second, the Advocacy coalition framework. The punctuation used for this paper is derived from Greta Thunberg’s school strikes for climate, and the paper uses people under 18 as a hypothesised weaker coalition trying to affect local decision makers to reach a climate policy equilibrium, in this paper, passively. The results show no such statistically significant correlation, just a couple of weak negative regression coefficients. This means that there is no support for the hypothesised relationship between the studied variables. However, this study found that the average level of formal education in the observed municipalities had a significant impact on the emission reduction actions in a positive way and budgeting in a negative way.

Soil is essentially irreversibly damaged when covered with impervious artificialsurfaces, a process known as soil sealing. Previous research on soil sealing policiesmainly studied strategies for effective local policy implementation. However, ifeffective implementation of soil sealing policies is to be considered, soil sealing policiesshould be on the local agenda. Therefore, this master thesis explored the local agendasetting of soil sealing. It drew on the Multiple Streams Approach and studied the agendasetting with respect to problem recognition, policy generation and actors’ engagement.Four Swedish municipalities with urban areas where soil sealing was already on thelocal agenda were examined. An analysis of policy documents and interviews withmunicipal civils servants and politicians enabled a comparison of the local agendasetting processes of soil sealing. The results showed general similarities in the problemrecognition by indicators and feedback, but differences in the importance of focusingevents. In one municipality, a focusing event in the form of a flooding seems to havepushed the issue of soil sealing to the local agenda. A powerful symbol, with whichproblems with soil sealing were recognized as a problem of the ethnicity of the citizens,was arguably used in one municipality. The role of consultants, the importance ofinspiration from other municipalities and the value acceptability of soil sealing policiesin the policy generation process were similar across all municipalities. In onemunicipality, researchers’ involvement was significant in the policy generation process.Regarding actors’ engagement, this master thesis showed that politicians were notconsidered as engaged with soil sealing by civil servants across all municipalities.However, according to all interviewed politicians, they considered themselves asengaged with issues of soil sealing. Moreover, policy entrepreneurs most probably hadan important role in the agenda setting of soil sealing in one municipality only.

This thesis examines how New public management has affected the governance of elderly care in Swedish municipalities.  In recent years, the Swedish media, unions for people working in elderly care and other societal actors, have reported on flaws in both the working environment for the people working in elderly care and in the care that is provided to the elders. This thesis examines how the ideas behind the term New public management are implemented in a public organization that is facing a lot of challenges and therefore is struggling to deliver good quality services to the residents. This is done by an in depth analysis of the governance of the elderly care in a single Swedish municipality, Arvika kommun. This analysis also aims to explore the relationship between the challenges that the Swedish elderly care is facing and the implementation of reforms that are associated with the term New public management.  The analysis is based on a model for ideal type analysis and the material that is analyzed consist of a policy document that describes the elderly care in Arvika kommun and transcribed interviews with four informants who are working as managers in the elderly care in Arvika kommun. The ideal types that have been constructed are based on the doctrines that Christopher Hood formulated as the content of the term New public management.  The results from the analysis shows that the ideas behind the term New public management are implemented in the governing of the elderly care in Arvika kommun in a large number of ways. For example in the use of explicit standards and measures of performance, private sector styles of management and the disaggregation of units. The most prominent way in which the ideas behind the term New public management are implemented in the governing of the elderly care is in the focus on discipline and parsimony in resource use which is something that affects the whole organization.  Like some of the previous studies that examine New public management in relation to Swedish elderly care, this thesis also presents the result that there is a connection between the challenges that the elderly care is facing and the implementation of reforms associated with New public management. New public managements focus on making everything more time- and cost effective gives the staff working in elderly care a more stressful working environment. The stressful working environment leads to people resigning and a staff shortage which in turn leads to a lower quality in the care that is provided to the elders.

Sweden has since 2015 aimed at becoming the first fossil free welfare state. Investments in green industries have recently increased to unprecedented levels and there are currently many industries establishing themselves in Sweden with the intention of becoming drivers of the green transition. This thesis aimed at exploring how these establishments have impacted the municipalities in which they will locate themselves. By interviewing seven municipal officials involved in spatial planning, the impact of these establishments has had on planners and planning routines has been analysed. It was discovered that these establishments bring with them immense pressures and expectations to create growth and development for the municipalities. Some municipalities have formed new collaborative relationships to help ease the pressure whilst others claim it is business as usual. No matter the management of the establishments and the surrounding processes, there is a strong belief in the potential they hold. In line with postpolitical theory, the actors involved are consensus-seeking and work collaboratively. The processes are backed by a strong sense of unity, both within the municipal organisation but also across political borders. The use of fuzzy concepts also aligns with the postpolitical criticism of public management. However, the development of the industries are not fuzzy and can be seen to deliver real growth, which goes against the claims of post political thinkers. Conclusively, the municipalities that received these establishments are put under immense pressure but welcome the establishment with hopes of creating a prosperous future.

Adaptive Governance approaches are being implemented by officials in Swedish municipalities. A close dialogue and cooperation between municipalities, and the acceptance of the uncertainty and unpredictability of climate change are included in the strategic work, and facilitate the introduction of Adaptive Governance approaches. However, Adaptive Governance approaches are at the same time hindered by the municipal systems, which does not allow for the introduction of new and innovative information. In particular, this study demonstrates that the systems are not structured to include such information from informal sources, such as citizens and farmers. This comparative study investigates water quality management at the local level, applying the concept of Adaptive Governance in three Swedish municipalities: Kalmar, Västerås and Upplands Väsby.The analysis is based on the theoretical framework of Adaptive Governance that expands on the understanding of adaptive management. The 17 semi-structured interviews conclude that the facilitators for Adaptive Governance are most evident within the areas of collaboration and shared responsibility between municipalities. Barriers to the development of Adaptive Governance are identified as a failure in the systems to include ecological knowledge. Expanding Adaptive Governance research to a larger number of municipalities within the European Union would shed some more light on what facilitates and what hinders the inclusion of Adaptive Governance approaches at the local level. Such research would have a dual effect: as a contribution to science and as a promotion for the practical implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive according to the Adaptive Governance approaches of the European water quality management.

In this thesis I examine the relationship between party affiliation of the local political leadership and the municipal tax rate in Sweden’s 290 municipalities between 1994 and 2018. The mean tax rate of Swedish municipalities has increased by 1.3 percentage points in that time, while the prevalence of right-wing coalitions – consisting of parties that claim to want a lower tax rate – in leadership also has increased. I therefore examine to what degree right-wing coalitions have contributed to the increase in the mean tax rate compared to left-wing and mixed coalitions. I find that while right-wing coalitions have contributed to the increase in the mean tax rate to a lower degree than other coalitions, the difference is small, and the difference between the contributions of right-wing and left-wing coalitions is not statistically significant. I also examine how right-wing coalitions containing the Green Party and local parties have affected the municipal tax rate compared to coalitions consisting only of traditional right-wing parties. When the Green Party or local parties are part of a right-wing coalition, the mean increase in the municipal tax rate is much lower than that of coalitions consisting only of right-wing parties. Lastly I examine how the amount of parties that are part of a local right-wing coalition affect the municipal tax rate and find that the fewer parties, the larger the mean tax increase.

There is no legislation in Sweden that forces municipalities to implement democracy-developing measures. Municipalities and regions are thus given a great deal of personal responsibility to implement this type of measure. Previous research shows that there are great variations in the number of democray-developing measuers between Sweden's municipalities. This means that inequality is introduced between residents in different municipalities in terms of the impact on local policy.The ambition of this study was thus to find out why this variation prevails. The question for the study is • What factors can explain the variation in the prevalence of democracy-developing work in Swedish municipalities and what proportion of the variation can these factors explain?By quantitatively testing three different factors that could have an impact on the number of democracy-developing measures, an answer to the question of the study can be obtained. The three factors were economy, political ideology and its stability and geographical network. After compiling statistics from these three factors in relation to the number of democracy-developing measures in the Swedish municipalities, results from the statistics program SPSS could be analyzed. This shows that these three factors together account for an explanatory degree between 8.7 to 33.4 percent of the variance.

For the past years, there has been an absence of economic crisis on a global level. The unexpected COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus led to a significant disruption in economies across the globe, followed by a decrease in economic activity. The decline in economic activity caused market shocks which eventually increased unemployment. This paper aims to analyse unemployment between the years 2018 to 2021 to measure pre- and post-pandemic unemployment rate among Swedish municipalities. The research question is, was the COVID-19 affected significantly related to an increase in unemployment rates across the 290 municipalities in Sweden? Data collection is from several agencies, including the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen), The Public Health Agency of Sweden (Folkhälsomyndigheten), and Statistic Sweden (SCB). The regression model used to analyse the variables are series of fixed effects regression. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the pandemic and economic downturn. By examining variables such as COVID-19 affected, immigrants, education, and disposable income in municipalities, this paper was able to conclude that COVID-19 affected are significantly related to unemployment increase in all 290 municipalities.

In this paper theories regarding the effect of ideology and government type on public budget deficits are put to a test. Following the least likely-method I construct panel data on Swedish municipalities between 1998 and 2014. The data includes four political variables: the local government’s ideology, majority rule, coalition rule and number of parties in the coalition, and several control variables. The results using a fixed effects-model show that there are no effects of neither ideology, majority rule, coalition rule nor the coalition’s number of parties on Swedish municipalities’ budget deficits.