Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Marketization in Crisis : The Political Economy of COVID-19 and the Unmaking of Public Transport in Stockholm

Paulsson, Alexander LU and Koglin, Till LU (2023) In Critical Sociology 49(2). p.287-303
Abstract

While measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 disturbed both global and local markets, some commentators also argued that the pandemic could be seen as the beginning of the end of neoliberalism. Although neoliberal reforms have come under pressure, little is known about the implications of COVID-19 in or across specific sectors. Scaling down the rich theoretical–historical debates about neoliberalism to the regional level, we study the impact of COVID-19 on the marketized public transport system in Stockholm, Sweden. During COVID-19, ridership dropped as did ticket revenues, which put the market under operational and financial distress. Drawing on a discussion of the norms and techniques of marketization, we probe how the contracted... (More)

While measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 disturbed both global and local markets, some commentators also argued that the pandemic could be seen as the beginning of the end of neoliberalism. Although neoliberal reforms have come under pressure, little is known about the implications of COVID-19 in or across specific sectors. Scaling down the rich theoretical–historical debates about neoliberalism to the regional level, we study the impact of COVID-19 on the marketized public transport system in Stockholm, Sweden. During COVID-19, ridership dropped as did ticket revenues, which put the market under operational and financial distress. Drawing on a discussion of the norms and techniques of marketization, we probe how the contracted bus operators responded to the pandemic, how they tried to save the market from collapsing, and whether the measures taken suggest an organized move away from neoliberal policies. Adding to recent debates of COVID-19 and neoliberalism’s longevity, we conclude that although the norms underpinning marketization remained unquestioned, the techniques were partly re-evaluated in the midst of the global crisis as a way to protect the established neoliberal policies from falling apart.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
COVID-19, marketization, neoliberalism, public transport, Sweden
in
Critical Sociology
volume
49
issue
2
pages
17 pages
publisher
Brill
external identifiers
  • pmid:36876227
  • scopus:85123803005
ISSN
1569-1632
DOI
10.1177/08969205211069862
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.
id
3ce4a364-2928-4bbf-9dc8-a37083b9093d
date added to LUP
2022-02-15 07:06:11
date last changed
2024-06-13 10:57:26
@article{3ce4a364-2928-4bbf-9dc8-a37083b9093d,
  abstract     = {{<p>While measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 disturbed both global and local markets, some commentators also argued that the pandemic could be seen as the beginning of the end of neoliberalism. Although neoliberal reforms have come under pressure, little is known about the implications of COVID-19 in or across specific sectors. Scaling down the rich theoretical–historical debates about neoliberalism to the regional level, we study the impact of COVID-19 on the marketized public transport system in Stockholm, Sweden. During COVID-19, ridership dropped as did ticket revenues, which put the market under operational and financial distress. Drawing on a discussion of the norms and techniques of marketization, we probe how the contracted bus operators responded to the pandemic, how they tried to save the market from collapsing, and whether the measures taken suggest an organized move away from neoliberal policies. Adding to recent debates of COVID-19 and neoliberalism’s longevity, we conclude that although the norms underpinning marketization remained unquestioned, the techniques were partly re-evaluated in the midst of the global crisis as a way to protect the established neoliberal policies from falling apart.</p>}},
  author       = {{Paulsson, Alexander and Koglin, Till}},
  issn         = {{1569-1632}},
  keywords     = {{COVID-19; marketization; neoliberalism; public transport; Sweden}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{287--303}},
  publisher    = {{Brill}},
  series       = {{Critical Sociology}},
  title        = {{Marketization in Crisis : The Political Economy of COVID-19 and the Unmaking of Public Transport in Stockholm}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/08969205211069862}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/08969205211069862}},
  volume       = {{49}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}