Nu är det väl valfrihetsrevolution på gång? : En undersökning av samhällsmedborgares möjligheter till reell valfrihet i välfärden på landsbygden

Sammanfattning: Over the past few decades, the Swedish welfare system has undergone a process of marketization, characterized by the implementation of choice reforms. In order for citizens to be able to utilize their freedom of choice, a set of requirements have to be met. However, while it is argued in the literature that the conditions for choice reforms are worse in rural areas compared to urban areas, there is a lack of empirical studies examining these requirements in a rural Swedish context. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the market diversity requirement and the overproduction requirement in rural Swedish municipalities that have set up a system of choice for home care services in accordance with The Act on Systems of Choice (LOV). The results show that out of the sixteen municipalities included in the study, both requirements for functioning freedom of choice were fulfilled in four rural municipalities. Most commonly, the market diversity requirement was violated because of the absence of multiple established home care service providers. In some municipalities, the same requirement was also violated because providers failed to offer a variety of services. Further, the study shows that because some providers have restricted their operations to certain geographical areas within some municipalities, the ability for rural citizens to utilize their freedom of choice can differ within a municipality. All providers were able to accept new elderly clients, meaning that the overproduction requirement was fulfilled in all sixteen rural municipalities.