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Growth and Employment in the ‘Nordic Welfare States’ in the 1990s: a Tale of Crisis and Revival

In: Social Policy and Economic Development in the Nordic Countries

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  • Jaakko Kiander

Abstract

The group of ‘Nordic countries’ consists of five Northern European states: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. All of them are usually thought to be so-called ‘welfare states’ — i.e. egalitarian societies with extensive public sectors and income redistribution. They are also rich economies with high living standards and excellent quality of life. The best-known and the largest of the Nordic countries is Sweden, and it is not uncommon that discussions on welfare state simply refer to so-called ‘Swedish model’. Although the Nordic countries and their welfare models are not identical there are so many similarities between them and so many differences between them and the other European countries that it is legitimate to speak about a ‘Nordic model’. This chapter reviews the macroeconomic performance and the current state of the Nordic welfare states, and focuses especially on the experiences of Denmark, Finland and Sweden in the 1990s in adjusting their public sectors to fiscal consolidation.1

Suggested Citation

  • Jaakko Kiander, 2005. "Growth and Employment in the ‘Nordic Welfare States’ in the 1990s: a Tale of Crisis and Revival," Social Policy in a Development Context, in: Olli Kangas & Joakim Palme (ed.), Social Policy and Economic Development in the Nordic Countries, chapter 9, pages 210-240, Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Handle: RePEc:pal:sopchp:978-0-230-52350-0_9
    DOI: 10.1057/9780230523500_9
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    Cited by:

    1. Farkas, Beáta, 2011. "A közép-kelet-európai piacgazdaságok fejlődési lehetőségei az Európai Unióban [The development opportunities for the Central-East European market economies within the European Union]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(5), pages 412-429.
    2. Jaakko Kiander & Pentti Vartia, 2011. "Lessons from the crisis in Finland and Sweden in the 1990s," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 53-69, February.
    3. Kiander, Jaakko, 2004. "The Evolution of the Finnish Model in the 1990s: from Depression to High-tech Boom," Discussion Papers 344, VATT Institute for Economic Research.

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