Evidence-Based Social Science and the Rehnist Interpretation of the Development of Active Labor Market Policy in Sweden During the Golden Age: A Critical Examination

Abstract

This article examines the conventional Rehnist interpretation of active labor market policy in Sweden during the period from the war to the early 1970s and asks how it relates to the basic principles of evidence-based social science research.It is shown that the interpretation is misleading, reproducing and communicating material, stories, and images that were supplied bysome of the leading Swedish actors rather than producing an analysis based on the empirical examination of actual developments.The conclusion of the article offers suggestions for an alternative evidencebased interpretation of the Swedish case.