The Nordic Model

The Nordic countries top every survey on overall well-being and expressed happiness and satisfaction with living conditions and the environment, and, moreover, emerge on top even in measures of global competitiveness. This book unravels the unique economic and social processes by which these countries have achieved such universally acclaimed success. The authors note that the Nordic success has not been a sudden surge forward, and provide substance to the argument that conditions going back to feudal times, and unique societal relations and a social consensus allowing low power distances and smooth decentralization have played key roles in the Nordic transition into full-fledged knowledge economies. Indeed, as they note, "if there is a Valhalla for Nordic politicians, policy-makers and organization leaders, it will surely provide them an idyllic island under a mellow sun for holding amiable discussions, lowering their guards in a give-and-take spirit, on issues pertaining to the well-being of that Nordic paradise."