The adoption of the Swedish carbon tax: Influences and interactions across multiple political levels, jurisdictions, and policy areas

Abstract When Sweden adopted its carbon tax in 1990, it was as one of the first of its kind worldwide. While the adoption of the tax has been attributed to its inclusion in the Swedish tax reform, undoubtedly playing a crucial role, the reform does not in itself explain how the Swedish carbon tax came about or why it became part of the reform package in the first place. In this article, we present a case study analyzing the policy process in more detail by using the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) to better capture the role that influences and interactions across political levels, jurisdictions, and policy areas played. Our analysis shows how impacts from such influences and interactions were critical for the process leading up to policy adoption: The carbon tax, seen as connected to energy policy, was coupled to both environmental and economic problems. This was crucial for building political support in parliament and across interest groups, while the work of international epistemic communities influenced the introduction of the ideas of environmental economic instruments and carbon taxation. Without these couplings and influences, it is doubtful whether the carbon tax would have been adopted at that time.