When people leave the small towns - house prices fall - or stagnate. At the same time, housing prices in major cities are rising. For those who have lost their job in the small community, it becomes more difficult to break up and move.
Remaining in the resort becomes "double losers", individuals who tend to dissatisfaction when there is choice.
This picture draws Helena Bohman and Peter Gladoic Håkansson, researchers at Malmö University and editors of a new book that compares the change in Scandinavia and south-eastern Europe.
- Discontent manifests itself in the polling stations. We see that in Sweden, and we see that with Trump and Brexit, says Peter Gladoic Håkansson.
Skåne's division visibleThe geographical gap is also clearly visible in Skåne, they say.
- The dividing line goes at the old county boundary between Malmöhus and Kristianstad. In northeastern Skåne, employment has declined since the 1980s, and relative property prices have fallen compared, says Peter Gladoic Håkansson.
- At the same time, we see in western Skåne, along the coast from Vellinge to Ängelholm, that both property prices and employment have increased.
SVT meets researcher duo in the Perstorp mill, a place that has lost jobs.
Perstorps AB, the large industrial giant, had at most 2000 employees. Today, the municipality's business manager estimates that the chemistry study employs about 800 people.
Must be easier to commuteUnemployment is far above the national level.
- We need to talk more about this. Otherwise, we risk a land that is torn apart, where people feel that they will not be part of the same development, says Helena Bohman.
The solution is to make it easier to move but also to commute, according to the researchers.
- Then reliable transport systems are needed that make people know that they are arriving on time, and can use the travel time for something productive, says Helena Bohman.