It's not finance, it's your pensions
Summary
The Loop article argues that welfare policy design—not just total spending—shapes how finance and capital markets develop, using Sweden and the Netherlands as examples. It introduces the idea of 'assetising' welfare through subsidies and funded pensions and contrasts it with public pensions that do not mobilize capital markets. The piece urges policymakers to consider how pension and welfare structures influence the broader economy and potential asset inflation.