Purpose The aim of this study is to examine how Swedish municipalities work withsustainability and transform ideas into actions in regard to Agenda 2030. This is examined with abasis in microfoundations. We propose that the different levels of microfoundations areinterlinked and that all levels of microfoundations need to work properly to have a functioningprocess of turning ideas into actions. Theoretical Perspective In order to examine this issue comprehensively, a literature review isperformed. Previous research shows that microfoundations can be split into three subcategories:individuals, processes and structure. The analysis is done from the perspective of these threemicrofoundational categories. Method This study is conducted using a qualitative method through a dual case study. Five semistructured interviews are conducted in two municipalities. The interviews are transcribed andanalyzed using the theoretical background. Municipal documents are also used in the analysis inorder to triangulate the data. Conclusion The empirical findings show that all levels of microfoundations are vital for thestudied municipalities when they transform sustainability ideas into actions. The most importantlevel of microfoundations appears to be individuals, however all of the levels are intertwined andit is not sufficient with just one level.

The digitalisation has moved forward since the first website launched in Sweden 1993. Today theinternet is a big source for information that is available 24/7 to the users. All municipalities inSweden have their own websites with information for its citizens about topics like eldercare,schools, and landscape planning to rescue services. 17 out of 290 municipalities had a chatbot atthe beginning of this study. The purpose of this report is to highlight how chatbots within theSwedish municipalities are used and what problems they can face with owning one. This will befrom the perspective of the municipality. The method used is semi structured interviews withrepresentatives from eight municipalities and the developer of a chatbot. From these interviews,and our own study, it was learned that municipalities need to prepare themselves better andunderstand their own requirements while measuring their expectations to those.

This thesis contributes to the emerging literature on the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on individuals’ labour market outcomes by investigating the effects on households’ income in the Swedish labour market. Using panel data for Sweden’s municipalities over the period 2011-2020, a difference-in-difference design is constructed to examine how the pandemic has affected average yearly disposable income for all households and how the effects are distributed across different household compositions and age groups. The findings suggest a decrease in income for all households of approximately 0.37%, mainly driven by households in the age group 30-49. Further, the distribution of impacts across the household types and age groups varies. Cohabiting without children experienced a decline in income of 0.37%, while no statistically significant values are discovered for women with- or without children, or men with- or without children. Looking at the age groups, significant negative values are found for cohabiting aged 18-29 without children and cohabiting aged 30-49 with children. Even though no statistically significant values for neither women nor men are found, the size of the coefficients indicates a slightly larger income decrease for men compared to women.

This study aims to explain why voters in Sweden choose to cast their vote on the, often more unknown and smaller, local municipality party rather than an established larger party. Earlier studies have focused more on why the local parties are created, this study has a different approach as it tries to explain voter behavior rather than party creation. To achieve this goal a survey has been sent out to all the local parties registered for the kommunfullmäktige election before 2018s election. The study finds that the most significant reason for the voters seems to be the representatives of the local party, therefore strengthening the earlier theories of the importance of the so-called local entrepreneur. A second important result was the fact that voters believe that local parties best represent the voters view on local issues, as the local party focuses on trying to fix those issues without the need to take the national policy into consideration. Future studies with a larger sample size could develop the theory further and answer some unanswered questions, such as: Why local parties seem to cluster together in neighboring municipalities.

Sweden’s housing crisis Tim Sonesson ABSTRACT: This study aims to describe and analyze Sweden’s housing crisis. The purpose is to better understand why Sweden has a lack of housing in most of her municipalities. So that in the long run the current situation can be improved. The study is a literature study of materials such as state investigations, numbers from SCB (Swedish statistics bureau) and a variety of other different material.The main point is that the building speed does not correspond to the increase in population. Therefore, this study lifts the population development and different regulations, taxes, and subsidies regarding housing construction. The study compares Sweden to a handful of comparable countries with focus on regulations. Mismatches in demand and supply regarding the housing market is also brought up. More topics that in some way relates to this issue are brought up such as the competition in the construction market could be unhealthy and that could be why the construction prices are high. Maybe there is a fear of really take care of the problem from the government due to the last big housing projects failures (Miljonprogrammet). Sweden tops the list of most single households in the world, that could be a small part of the problem. The study also goes through the role of the Swedish municipalities which has a big role to play in the housing situation. Finally, the study tries to look forward to get some sort of grip in which direction Sweden is going, if the housing crisis is going to be solved any time soon or not.

Many of the municipalities in Sweden experience socioeconomic residential segregation which increase the polarization between high- and low-income groups and contributes to a higher degree of inequality between people. Previous studies on neighbourhood effects have mainly examined on a city district level and some of them show that different factors such as health, education, participation in politics and trust in society varies depending on where you live. However, there are fewer studies investigating the segregation on a municipality level which this study does for the purpose of getting an overview of the residential segregation in Sweden. By using inequality index as a measure of socioeconomic segregation this study examines how different variables of causes and social and political consequences may correlate with the segregation. To find out if there is a connection between the inequality index and the variables supposed to be causes and consequences of segregation a regression analysis and a correlation analysis is used. The results are showing that small as well as large municipalities are experiencing a residential segregation and the weight of structures on a higher degree of socioeconomic residential segregation. There is also a correlation between the segregation and several negative outcomes on social and political variables. Based on the results, a conclusion can be drawn that the segregation not only contributes to injustice among individuals but also between the municipalities since some of them seem to possess more numerous of problems than others regarding the living environment.

The adoption of decentralised systems of governance in its various forms across the world represents one of the most important reforms of the past generation. In South Africa, through a plethora of legislative reforms post 1994, the framework of developmentalism and decentralisation underpin the structure and functioning of the local government system. The new onerous legislative responsibilities bestowed on local government included the significant objectives of promoting social and economic development. Given however the myriad of challenges in this sphere of government, the need to find meaningful, suitable and sustainable solutions are even more pressing. By employing a two-way error component fixed panel data regression technique, this study explores the impact of fiscal decentralisation arrangements in South Africa on the financial wellbeing of the district municipalities across the length and breadth of the country. The data reveals that district municipalities in South Africa are not able to self-generate a meaningful amount of revenue and as a result they are heavily dependent on intergovernmental transfers. The results from the regression models reveal that the fiscal decentralisation arrangement have no meaningful impact on the financial condition of district municipalities in South Africa, given their lack of fiscal autonomy. The current two-tier system of governance between local and district municipalities is not consistent with the tenets and intended outcomes of a decentralised system and there is a need to restructure this system to make it more fiscally autonomous and sustainable for municipalities to be able to fulfil legislative responsibilities.

Municipalities and regions in Sweden have an increasing need to purchase security technology to secure their properties and their operations. However this procurement process is strictly regulated by the Swedish procurement act (“Lagen om Offentlig Upphandling”, LoU), leading to a similar procurement process. However no academic studies have been done on the procurement of security technology in local authorities.This thesis explores and maps this process and the important aspects which affect how the process is carried out. This was done via a multiple case study, primarily involving interviews with experts from seven municipalities and six regions in Sweden. It analyses the public procurement from a process perspective from the initiation via the purchase to the follow-up and monitoring. Hence, the study is using a wider definition of the procurement process than most previous studies on public procurement. The aspects which affect this procurement process were also identified in this study.The results show that the procurement process has a cyclic nature, based on framework agreements in most of the studied case organizations. This cyclic nature gives both the planning and the follow-up central parts in a successful procurement process. The main identified aspects affecting the procurement process of security technology identified were: Supplier lock-in Procurement complexity The role LoU plays in the case organizationsOther themes related to main aspects presented above are also discussed in this thesis such as the suitability to implement SecaaS (Security as a Service) in the case organizations and the stakeholder dimension. The main conceptual contribution of this thesis is the usefulness of adapting a comprehensive process perspective when studying public procurement.

Sweden is divided into 290 municipalities. The municipalities are responsible for many services that generates significant amount of CO2 emissions. For example; energy, waste management andstreetlights. This emission can potentially be reduced by using Green IT - smart IT solutions that optimise the processes or reduces the energy needed. One good example is adaptive street lighting that utilize sensors to identify when someone is nearby and light needs to be on. The utilization of Green IT differs a lot between the municipalities. Why is this the case? Municipalities are not competing with each other, and it seems like low hanging fruit to just “copypaste” a successful Green IT solution from one municipality to another. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism around diffusion of Green IT innovations related to Swedish municipalities. We applied a mixed method approach based on interviews and a questionnaire. Managers within the municipalities served as the source of empirical data. We found that there are several different types of factors that probably has an impact on the diffusion of Green IT innovation within municipalities and we investigated their relative importance. A high-level explanation of what factors that are considered to enable the diffusion of Green IT innovation is: Firstly, there need to be a willingness to change, for example by applying a policy or target settings. Secondly, superior Green IT solutions need to be identified and here the best forum is networking with other municipalities. Then innovation needs to be transformed to fit the specific municipality, which calls for the organisation’s own innovation capabilities. To finally implement the Green IT solutions there need to be available resources within IT and change management skills to successfully implement them. This study was made with mixed method approach based on a relatively small dataset and without measuring the actual rate of diffusion. The recommendation for future research is to further develop and validate our construct by testing the correlation between the factors identified in this study and the actual rate of diffusion of Green IT innovations within Swedish municipalities.

The diploma thesis is focused on analysis of the motivational component of municipalities which represents for municipalities a participation in personal tax revenues. The main aim of this thesis is to analyse and evaluate the development of this component in the years 2011 - 2017. The partial aim of this work is a calcualtion of the component in the years 2015 and 2016, an analysis of the motivational component in regions nad preferential municipalities including per capita and an analysis of the component according to the size cathegory of municipalities. The aim of the work is also to evaluate the legitimacy of annulment of the motivational component by amendment to the Act on Budgeraty Allocation of tax return. This diploma thesis delas with the terms public administration, regions, municipalities and financing of municipalities. The next part focuses on incomes of municipalities, particularly tax incomes and budgetary allocation of taxes including their development. The analytical part introduces some of the expected impacts of the amendment, a calculation of the motivational component, individual analyses and a general assessment.