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German Bender


German Bender is chief analyst at the Swedish think-tank Arena. A PhD candidate at Stockholm School of Economics, he was a visiting research fellow at Harvard Law School in 2023.

German Bender

US electric-car maker faces Swedish union shock

German Bender 31st October 2023

Tesla faces its first ever strike after refusing to negotiate with the Swedish trade union IF Metall.

Why AI might not take your job, just yet

German Bender 28th April 2023

Recent developments in artificial intelligence have rekindled fears of technological unemployment—fuelled by technological determinism.

The global AI race—it’s time to slow down

German Bender 15th February 2023

The world’s largest companies cannot be given free rein in their competition to capitalise artificial intelligence.

A minimum-wage directive could undermine the Nordic model

German Bender 13th July 2021

Several negative effects need to be addressed in the current negotiations on the directive, in the Swedish trade union view.

Algorithmic control

German Bender 12th February 2021

Work in the social sciences on algorithmic systems can inform how unions address their impact on the power balance between workers and employers­.

The myth of job polarisation may fuel populism

German Bender 30th January 2020

There is only one problem with the theory that the labour market is becoming polarised between the low- and high-skilled. It’s wrong.

A Cautionary Tale To Be Had From Swedish School Reforms

German Bender 4th December 2018

Since the general election in September, Sweden has found itself in a political deadlock awaiting the formation of a government. One of the issues dividing the two main parliamentary blocs is whether there should be a cap on profit margins for publicly funded private schools. A government proposal to introduce such regulation was stopped by […]

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Spring Issues

The Spring issue of The Progressive Post is out!


Since President Trump’s inauguration, the US – hitherto the cornerstone of Western security – is destabilising the world order it helped to build. The US security umbrella is apparently closing on Europe, Ukraine finds itself less and less protected, and the traditional defender of free trade is now shutting the door to foreign goods, sending stock markets on a rollercoaster. How will the European Union respond to this dramatic landscape change? .


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss European defence strategies, assess how the US president's recent announcements will impact international trade and explore the risks  and opportunities that algorithms pose for workers.


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WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

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