On 25th October 2023, Prof. Anders Lindbom, from Uppsala University, Sweden, delivered a special lecture to students in the Master’s Program in Public Policy (MPP) at Vietnam Japan University with the topic “The Swedish Welfare State in Comparative Perspective”.
Opening the special lecture, Prof. Anders Lindbom provided a comprehensive overview of the welfare state, including taxes, costs, capitalism and socialism, benefits of the welfare state, and its roles in promoting social and economic equality. He also highlighted some key indicators to measure the welfare benefits, like life expectancy at birth, children per woman, income equality coefficient, and support for the elderly, compared with other advanced countries such as the USA, Sweden, and Japan.
During the seminar, Prof. Anders Lindbom along with MPP students, reviewed the current implementation of welfare policies and their impact in the context of Vietnam’s industrialization. Consequently, these policies resulted in significant changes in some areas, including pensions and unemployment benefits. Moreover, Prof. Lindbom and the MPP students also discussed how taxation policies can make great changes to foster an equal and equitable society. Based on that, Prof. Lindbom analyzed the specific policies and practices that have made the Swedish welfare state successful and how to apply these lessons learnt in Vietnam.
Following this lecture, MPP students actively engaged in this lecture and raised many questions and concerns about the welfare state model. Prof. Lindbom spent additional time answering the questions and concerns of the students attending the seminar. The questions revolved around the applicable welfare state model in Vietnam and the recommendations for Vietnam to achieve the welfare state.
This lecture presents an exclusive opportunity for MPP students to broaden their understanding of welfare policies in developed countries, thereby applying these valuable insights to the current challenges confronting Vietnam.
