By John Hille, the Ideas Bank Foundation

The Nordic societies are among those which have succeeded best in achieving economic growth and overcoming poverty within their own borders. As a result we are now also among the most profligate consumers of the world’s natural resources. Has the Nordic model outlived itself, or could it also contain the seeds of a sustainable development?

The “Nordic model” of social development has long been a concept, not only at home, but also among politically interested people outside the Nordic countries. Among the latter it has traditionally been of special interest to those with more or less social democratic leanings, but during recent years it has also met with interest in financial circles. The fact that all the Nordic countries come out near the top of international competitiveness rankings has made an impression.

The exact content of the Nordic model is less clear. A common denominator of most descriptions is that all of the Nordic countries are welfare states with strong social security and a willingness to redistribute income. But this is not unique to these countries, nor were they the first to introduce several of their welfare programmes. Bismarck introduced a universal old age pension in Germany 50 years before Nygaardsvold did so in Norway. The first well-developed welfare state arose in New Zealand, as far away from the Nordic countries as possible, and the term itself originates from Britain, where it served as a vision for Attlee’s post-war government.

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