Introduction

Summary

This entire … episode is a fascinating example of how important what people think about money can sometimes be.

– M. Friedman and A. Schwartz, A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960, p. 133.

When in September 2003 a sound majority of Swedish voters rejected the euro, many Scandinavian analysts highlighted the fact that all major parties had campaigned for a “yes” but obviously had failed to convince their constituencies. For example, the liberal Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter concluded “that the ‘no’ outcome in the recent referendum on Sweden's joining the European Monetary Union is a protest against the political establishment.” Similarly, the Norwegian conservative daily Aftenposten wrote, “Not even a massive bunch of well-meaning threats could compete with voter skepticism in a situation where fundamental values are at stake. The Swedes have said no to their leaders – an alliance of politicians, union heads, business people, and media figures.”

The protest against the political establishment was in fact remarkable, especially in a country where government institutions enjoy a high degree of acceptance among the population. Nevertheless, it would be wrong to interpret the referendum in negative terms. By casting a no vote, most Swedes not only rejected the euro but also expressed surprisingly strong support for the flexible-exchange-rate regime Sweden had adopted only 10 years prior to the referendum.