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Från budgetrådgivare till börsexperter : Finansialisering och finansiell läskunnighet i privatekonomisk rådgivning, 1987–2017

Vikström, Axel LU orcid (2026) In Lychnos. Årsbok för idé- och lärdomshistoria 2025. p.325-351
Abstract (Swedish)
Since the 1980s, financial deregulation and welfare cuts have driven an economic risk shift, requiring individuals to take greater financial responsibility through private savings in stocks and mutual funds. An unexplored aspect of this “financialization of everyday life” is the personal finance advice provided by experts employed by banks and other market-oriented actors. This study examines financial savings advice provided by these advisors in Sweden’s four largest newspapers from 1987 to 2017. The study identifies three eras: the family economists (1987–1997), the private economists (1997–2012), and the savings economists (2012–2017). The findings suggest that, following the economic turmoil of the early 1990s, personal finance advice... (More)
Since the 1980s, financial deregulation and welfare cuts have driven an economic risk shift, requiring individuals to take greater financial responsibility through private savings in stocks and mutual funds. An unexplored aspect of this “financialization of everyday life” is the personal finance advice provided by experts employed by banks and other market-oriented actors. This study examines financial savings advice provided by these advisors in Sweden’s four largest newspapers from 1987 to 2017. The study identifies three eras: the family economists (1987–1997), the private economists (1997–2012), and the savings economists (2012–2017). The findings suggest that, following the economic turmoil of the early 1990s, personal finance advice became increasingly decontextualized and focused on developing generic financial skills and risk-embracing subjectivities. This risk shift, in turn, raises important questions about the role of consumer journalism in paving way for and reinforcing the market-oriented notion of financial literacy that has become prevalent in the 2000s. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Financialization of everyday life, Financial literacy, Financial advice, Financial markets, Risk shift, Private economists, Banks, Newspapers
in
Lychnos. Årsbok för idé- och lärdomshistoria
volume
2025
pages
27 pages
publisher
Swedish History of Science Society
ISSN
0076-1648
DOI
10.48202/27728
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
2b014573-2a33-4dfa-b07f-7a9bcd8fb98e
date added to LUP
2026-05-07 09:41:52
date last changed
2026-05-25 15:47:31
@article{2b014573-2a33-4dfa-b07f-7a9bcd8fb98e,
  abstract     = {{Since the 1980s, financial deregulation and welfare cuts have driven an economic risk shift, requiring individuals to take greater financial responsibility through private savings in stocks and mutual funds. An unexplored aspect of this “financialization of everyday life” is the personal finance advice provided by experts employed by banks and other market-oriented actors. This study examines financial savings advice provided by these advisors in Sweden’s four largest newspapers from 1987 to 2017. The study identifies three eras: the family economists (1987–1997), the private economists (1997–2012), and the savings economists (2012–2017). The findings suggest that, following the economic turmoil of the early 1990s, personal finance advice became increasingly decontextualized and focused on developing generic financial skills and risk-embracing subjectivities. This risk shift, in turn, raises important questions about the role of consumer journalism in paving way for and reinforcing the market-oriented notion of financial literacy that has become prevalent in the 2000s.}},
  author       = {{Vikström, Axel}},
  issn         = {{0076-1648}},
  keywords     = {{Financialization of everyday life; Financial literacy; Financial advice; Financial markets; Risk shift; Private economists; Banks; Newspapers}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  month        = {{03}},
  pages        = {{325--351}},
  publisher    = {{Swedish History of Science Society}},
  series       = {{Lychnos. Årsbok för idé- och lärdomshistoria}},
  title        = {{Från budgetrådgivare till börsexperter : Finansialisering och finansiell läskunnighet i privatekonomisk rådgivning, 1987–2017}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.48202/27728}},
  doi          = {{10.48202/27728}},
  volume       = {{2025}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}