Jacob Christensen

It is May Day and Swedish TV celebrates by screening Luis Buñuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

I have nothing to add.

This time via John Quiggin:

This afternoon, I looked at the NY Times to see a story about stagnant real wages in Europe, which began with a lengthy voxpop about a couple who had bought a breadmaker because baguettes were too dear, and continued in much the same vein. Deep within the article was the information that eurozone prices have risen by 22.5 per cent since 1999. But despite various claims about the declining purchasing power of wages, there is not a single piece of statistical evidence on wages anywhere in the story. Instead, we got a lengthy and inevitably inconclusive discussion of what constitutes the “middle class.

A quick visit to Eurostat reveals that Eurozone wages have risen about 30 per cent since 2000. German wages have increased by about 20 per cent, so the article’s claims of stagnation appear to be about right for Germany, but not for the EU as a whole. Of course, to do things properly you’d want to consider the impact of food prices on low-income households. But given the focus on the middle class, it seems reasonable to suppose that the price index measures the standard of living for the average middle class household reasonably well.

All I can say is: Remember rule #1 in journalism – never let the facts interfere with your story. Sigh.

Ah, yes. In Sweden local councils ruled by the Conservatives do what they can to get rid of public schools (no, really). Maybe the Conservatives ought to take a look at US experiences with public schools and different systems of school vouchers?

Via deLong.

Media pundits agree that Obama is in serious trouble. The numbers tell us “not so”.

John Sides has more.

Sweden has as a declared policy goal that 50% of birth cohort should get a college education. I’ve often wondered if that goal was realistic or even desirable.

Inspired by an article by Marty Nemko, a student advisor, in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Fabio Rojas discusses the issue and concludes:

College is a form of advanced education that’s designed for people who need or want to consume topics in the humanities and sciences. As a society, we have a strong interest in making sure any capable student has access to this great resource, regardless of family background. However, treating college education as a one size fits all economic improvement plan is a recipe for wasting people’s time and money.

Sweden isn’t the US, and not all of Nemko’s and Rojas’s arguments can be applied directly to the Nordic countries but they are still worth reading.

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