Published 17 Jul, 2017

Challenging future for Karlstad Region

Karlstad Region is more exposed to negative effects of automation on employment compared with two benchmark Swedish regions, especially in the retail and engineering industries. At the same time, Värmland can benefit from the sharing economy in tourism, programming, consulting, and many other service businesses. These theses are indicated by the newly finished TENTacle analysis of Karlstad Region’s contemporary conditions and future courses concerning globalisation, urbanisation, migration, sustainability, technology, and business

Going deeper into the analysis’ outcomes, it can be stated that the development of information technology means that it is equally technically possible to work remotely as physically adjacent to each other. Finally, if the technology overcomes the cultural barriers to teleworking, this can reduce Karlstad's disability in terms of passenger transport in relation to the geographical situation. More of distance work does not automatically mean an increased influence into a city. For this, it is also necessary that the city is attractive to young people. Furthermore, Karlstad is less exposed to areas of alienation, but at the same time has a weak labour market for employment of asylum immigrants.

Summarised, the following causes for the situation in Karlstad Region in relation to the two benchmarking city regions can be stated: Unfavorable sociocultural legacy, insufficient political leadership and a history of migration of big companies’ headquarters. The political leadership could not influence the major corporate ownership change and relocation of the leadership, which still throw their shadows over Värmland. This leads to the conclusion that the political leadership has to be improved and the region has to better adopt to automation and digitalisation to be able to achieve regional growth.

The analysis was conducted by Transnorden Sweden and is a basic report for the “Prosperity and Growth Strategy Karlstad Region”, one of the outputs of the TENTacle Central Scandinavia Borderland Pilot Case. This basic report will be used as foundation for the following development of strategic proposals.

For more information about the report and the Central Scandinavia Borderland Pilot Case, please contact

Leif Lendrup, Transnorden Sweden
E-mail: leif@gazl.se
Tel.: +46 703 422126

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