"In this chapter, we analyse the motivation and consequences of Swedish and Danish reforms of the Ghent-systems. While still among the best organized in the world, Swedish and Danish trade unions have experienced declining densities in the recent two decades. We trace this decline to institutional changes to the Ghent-system in both Sweden and Denmark by bourgeois governments. A key explanation for the relatively high union densities in the two countries is the union administered unemployment benefit systems, which have created a norm for employees of having dual-membership of both unemployment insurance funds and trade unions (Due and Madsen 2007; Due et al. 2010). After the reforms, more and more workers would chose to free-ride on the collective agreements that unions have negotiated with employers. Institutional changes to the Ghent-system of unemployment insurance, thus, weakened unions in both countries. In Sweden, the bourgeois attack on union organizing involved ..."

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