Focus on the Nordic welfare model:
A passion for equality
The Nordic countries stand out in a global context. Now the Nordic welfare model is the subject of closer examination at a new Nordic Centre of Excellence.
A passion for equality (Photo: Shutterstock)
"In Europe and the United States it is said that we have 'a passion for equality'," says Professor Bjørn Hvinden. He heads a Nordic Centre of Excellence (NCoE) which will be studying the future of the Nordic welfare model.
The Nordic model is known for its universal welfare provisions, low income disparity, low levels of poverty, high level of gender equality and high rate of employment among older members of the workforce. And that is just part of the picture. The model has attracted international attention not least because the countries are also successful in a competitive context.
Now many fear that increased globalisation heralds the breakdown of this welfare model. Globalisation leads to greater openness in the world economy and more immigration. At the same time many countries have more elderly people that need care and fewer people working to pay for the welfare benefits. Moreover, there is a general movement away from collectivist to individualist thinking.
All these factors have led more and more people to predict the demise of the welfare state. There is a widespread belief among politicians and economists alike that the inhabitants of Nordic countries will not be able to expect as much from their welfare systems in the future. But what do the researchers think?
Seeking answers
Does globalisation truly pose a threat to the Nordic model? Can the Nordic welfare state renew itself and operate successfully in a globalised world?
Dr Bjørn Hvinden
The Research Council and the national research funding bodies in Sweden, Finland and Iceland are bringing together leading Nordic welfare state researchers in order to find answers to these questions. This effort is taking place under the auspices of NordForsk (see pg. 6). The NCoE scheme is one of the instruments Nordforsk is employing to strengthen top Nordic research groups and to give Nordic research a higher profile internationally. And as the name of the scheme implies, these efforts bear the stamp of quality.
The Centre "Reassessing the Nordic Welfare Model" is one of two new NCoEs established under NordForsk in 2007. It is headed by Bjørn Hvinden, Head of Research at NOVA (Norwegian Social Research). Other participants include Stockholm University, the Danish National Centre for Social Research in Copenhagen and the University of Tampere in Finland.
Potential for comparison
The Nordic region has many outstanding research groups in the field of welfare. Since these groups are relatively small and are scattered across many countries, they are not well known internationally. The new centre is aiming to change that. "We will be addressing research questions that are of major interest at both the Nordic and the international level. Two of these are: what are the paths the Nordic countries choose to meet the economic challenges of an ageing population, and what needs to be done to solve the ever-increasing tasks of providing care in the future," explains Dr Hvinden.
"The Nordic countries have excellent information registers about their population. This means that our centre, which provides a hub for ten Nordic project groups, can coordinate both the data sources and the research into them. We can target findings that relate to the population as a whole and we can follow individuals over time. So even though protection of personal privacy is strictly enforced throughout the Nordic region, there is enormous potential for us to find topics and factors that we can use to make comparisons between the countries," he explains.
Moreover, data sources such as the European Social Survey and the European Survey of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) provide a basis for comparative studies to look at the Nordic countries in relation to other European countries.
"All the Nordic countries have moved closer to Europe, even Iceland and Norway which are not members of the EU. But are some of the countries moving further away from the joint Nordic welfare model than others? This is an exciting question that we may find the answers to through this research," states the Head of Research.
Many roads lead to Rome
"The Nordic Council of Ministers probably prefers the idea that there is a single Nordic model. But as researchers we have to refine this view a little. Even though there are many similarities, there are also essential differences in the design of welfare schemes among the Nordic countries. In Norway and Sweden, for example, supplementary old-age pensions are part of the social security system, which is not the case in Denmark. Employment protection when it comes to redundancies is weaker in relative terms in Denmark than in the other Nordic countries. Finland stands out in other ways, for example in that it has less immigration from non-Western countries. On the other hand, this is the only Nordic country that has relatively recent experience as an emigration country."
According to Dr Hvinden, several elements indicate that Denmark is the country that diverges most from the other Nordic countries and has most in common with liberal welfare states such as Great Britain and Ireland.
"But it is interesting to see how similar the results of the national variations of the Nordic welfare model are, despite the differences in benefit schemes and legislation. It just goes to show that many roads lead to Rome," says the Head of Research.
A more informal style in Scandinavia
Bjørn Hvinden has collaborated extensively with both Nordic and European researchers for a long time. He notes there may be some differences in how cooperation between the two groups turns out in practice. All-Nordic cooperation tends to flow along somewhat more easily than when other countries are involved, he believes. "We are on the same wavelength here in the Nordic countries, and our style is more informal. A lot of other European researchers are more focused on formalia, for example in terms of titles and academic status."
Dr Hvinden is delighted about the funds that he and his colleagues at the Centre have been granted for their research. "The support from NordForsk will enable us to conduct more extensive, in-depth cooperation with our Nordic colleagues over time, through working groups, visits of guest researchers, fellowship grants and funding for seminars and other meetings," he concludes.
The Nordic Model
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- Published:
- 19.09.2008
- Last updated:
- 24.09.2008
