DOCSLIB.ORG

Challenges to the Nordic Welfare State - Comparable Indicators Second Edition Tor Morten Normann, Elisabeth Rønning and Elisabeth Nørgaard

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Challenges to the Nordic Welfare State - Comparable Indicators Second Edition Tor Morten Normann, Elisabeth Rønning and Elisabeth Nørgaard Challenges to the Nordic Welfare State - Comparable Indicators Second edition Tor Morten Normann, Elisabeth Rønning and Elisabeth Nørgaard Challenges to the Nordic Welfare State - Comparable Indicators Challenges to the Nordic Welfare State - Comparable Indicators Second edition © Nordic Social-Statistical Committee 2014 Published by the Nordic Social-Statistical Committee (NOSOSCO) Artillerivej 5 DK 2300 Copenhagen S Tlf. +45 32685148 Email: [email protected] Website: www.nom-nos.dk Editor: Jesper Munk Marcussen Cover: Sisterbrandt designstue, Copenhagen Layout, design etc.: Lene Kokholm ISBN 978–87-90248-61-1 Contents Contents Preface ....................................................................... 9 Summary .................................................................... 12 Chapter 1 Challenges and Scope .... ................................................ 19 1.1 Establishment of the Welfare State ................................................... 19 1.2 The Nordic Welfare Model ............................................................... 20 1.3 Challenges for the Welfare States ...................................................... 22 1.4 A Costly Welfare State? ................................................................... 23 1.4.1 The Composition of the Social Expenditure .................................... 26 1.4.2 Changes in the Expenditure from 2006 to 2009 ............................... 28 1.5 Challenges and Expenditure - a Summary ............................................. 35 Chapter 2 Demography – An Ageing Population .................................... 38 82.1 Fewer People to Support Pension Recipients ......................................... 38 2.2 Not Enough Children Are Born ........................................................... 40 2.3 We Keep Getting Older ................................................................... 42 2.4 Immigration and Emigration ............................................................. 45 2.5 Education ................................................................................... 47 2.5.1 Higher education in the Nordic countries ...................................... 47 2.6 Summary .................................................................................... 50 5 Contents Chapter 3 Income Inequalities and Social Exclusion .............................. 52 3.1 Income Distribution and Income Inequality ........................................... 54 3.1.1 Low Income .......................................................................... 54 3.1.2 Low Income, by Gender ........................................................... 57 3.1.3 Low Income and Social Transfers ................................................ 58 3.1.4 Income Distribution – S80/20 ..................................................... 61 3.1.5 Low Income among Employed Persons .......................................... 62 3.2 Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion ..................................................... 65 3.3 Economic Problems and Material Deprivations ....................................... 67 3.4 Relatively Few People in the Nordic Region with Low Income and Financial Problems .................................................................................... 71 Chapter 4 Labour Market and Labour Market Activity ........................... 74 4.1 Employment ................................................................................ 75 4.1.1 Employment level in the Nordic countries and Europe ....................... 75 4.1.2 Employment among men and women ........................................... 78 4.1.3 Youth Employment ................................................................. 81 4.2 Unemployment ............................................................................. 82 4.2.1 Unemployment in the Nordic Region and Europe ............................. 83 4.2.2 Unemployment among men and women ........................................ 84 4.2.3 Youth Unemployment .............................................................. 86 4.3 Exclusion, Marginalisation and Disability .............................................. 88 4.3.1 Marginalisation ...................................................................... 89 4.3.2 Exclusion ............................................................................ 90 4.3.3 Disability ............................................................................. 91 4.3.4 Marginalisation, Exclusion and Disability in the Nordic Countries .......... 92 4.3.5 Which Factors Affect Marginalisation? ......................................... 96 4.3.6 Which Factors Affect Exclusion? ............................................... 115 4.3.7 Which Factors Affect Disability? ............................................... 129 6 Contents 4.3.8 Marginalisation, Exclusion and Disability in Europe ......................... 143 4.3.9 Employment, Unemployment, Marginalisation, Exclusion and Disability ............................................ 147 4.4 Part-time Employment ................................................................. 150 4.4.1 Part-Time Work as a Phenomenon - and as a Challenge for the Welfare State ....................................................................................... 151 4.4.2 Employment and Part-Time Work in the Nordic Region and Europe ..... 152 4.4.3 Women Working Part Time ..................................................... 156 4.4.4 Duration of Part-Time Work .................................................... 160 4.4.5 The Stable Part-Time Labour Force – and the Newcomers ................ 162 4.4.6 The New Part-Time Workers – What Did They Do the Previous Year? .... 171 4.4.7 Causes of Part-Time Work ...................................................... 172 4.4.8 Part-time Work- Summary ...................................................... 176 4.5 Employment Amongst Seniors ......................................................... 177 4.5.1 Senior Employment .............................................................. 177 4.5.2 The Main Activity of seniors .................................................... 181 4.5.3 Trends in Senior Employment .................................................. 185 4.5.4 Seniors In and Outside of the Labour Force .................................. 188 4.5.5 Senior Employment in Europe .................................................. 200 4.5.6 Senior Employment- Summary ................................................. 201 Chapter 5 Health .................................................................. 203 5.1 Healthy Years of Life .................................................................... 203 5.2 Self-assessed health, chronic illness and reduced functional ability in Europe ................................................................................. 206 5.2.1 Many People in the Nordic Region Are in Good Health ..................... 206 5.2.2 Self-assessed Health, Chronic Illness and Reduced Functional Ability in Europe ..................................................................................... 209 5.3 Larger or Smaller Gender Differences? ............................................. 212 5.4 Age Differences – Healthier Seniors? ................................................. 215 5.5 Gender and Age Differences ........................................................... 219 7 Contents 5.6 Does Country of Birth Impact Health? ............................................... 223 5.7 Educational Differences – Still There? ............................................... 226 5.8 Employment and Health are Connected ............................................. 232 5.8.1 Employment – Narrower Gender Gap.......................................... 234 5.8.2 Share of Part-Time Work Does Not Vary as Much According to Health Condition as Full-Time Work ........................................................... 236 5.8.3 Men Work More Full-Time – Irrespective of Health ......................... 238 5.9 Health, Education and Employment .................................................. 241 5.9.1 Largest Reduction in Labour Force Participation for those with Impaired Health and Low Education ............................................................. 241 5.9.2 What About the Rest of Europe? Education, Impaired Health and Changes in Labour Market Activity .............................................................. 246 5.10 Summary ................................................................................. 251 References ................................................................ 254 Appendix Tables ......................................................... 257 Publications published by NOSOSCO after 2000 ..................... 304 8 Preface Preface This report was written on behalf of the Nordic Social statistical Committee (NOSOSCO). Its background is the recognition of the fact that the welfare states will face important challenges i future years, which has further become highlighted by the international financial crisis that arose in the autumn of 2008. The report deals mainly with the Nordic welfare states, but we will also make comparisons with other European countries. This is based on the assumption that there are key common traits that makes it possible to talk about a Nordic welfare model. The purpose of the report is to emphasize some of the key challenges which the welfare states are faced with in order to present comparative indicators that enable us to further monitor and analyse
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Early Life Health Interventions and Academic Achievement†
    American Economic Review 2013, 103(5): 1862–1891 http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.103.5.1862 Early Life Health Interventions and Academic Achievement† By Prashant Bharadwaj, Katrine Vellesen Løken, and Christopher Neilson* This paper studies the effect of improved early life health care on mortality and long-run academic achievement in school. We use the idea that medical treatments often follow rules of thumb for assign- ing care to patients, such as the classification of Very Low Birth Weight VLBW , which assigns infants special care at a specific birth weight (cutoff. Using) detailed administrative data on schooling and birth records from Chile and Norway, we establish that children who receive extra medical care at birth have lower mortality rates and higher test scores and grades in school. These gains are in the order of 0.15–0.22 standard deviations. JEL I11, I12, I18, I21, J13, O15 ( ) This paper studies the effect of improved neonatal and early childhood health care on mortality and long-run academic achievement in school. Using administrative data on vital statistics and education records from Chile and Norway, we provide evidence on both the short- and long-run effectiveness of early life health interven- tions. The question of whether such interventions affect outcomes later in life is of immense importance for policy not only due to the significant efforts currently being made to improve early childhood health world wide, but also due to large dispari- ties in neonatal and infant health care that remain between and within countries.1 ( ) While the stated goal of many such interventions is to improve childhood health and reduce mortality, understanding spillovers and other long-run effects such as better academic achievement is key to estimating their efficacy.
    [Show full text]
  • Nordic House Price Bubbles?
    HOUSING LAB WORKING PAPER SERIES 2020 | 4 Nordic house price bubbles? André K. Anundsen Nordic house price bubbles?∗ André K. Anundseny October 19, 2020 Abstract This article estimates fundamental house prices for Denmark, Finland, Nor- way, and Sweden over the past 20 years. Fundamental house prices are determined by per capita income, the housing stock per capita, and the real after-tax interest rate. The trajectory of fundamental prices are com- pared to actual house price developments for the period 2000q12019q4. My results suggest that house prices were overvalued in all countries in the years preceding the global nancial crisis, but that prices quickly returned to equilibrium following the ensuing housing market bust. Results suggest that house prices were undervalued in Denmark and Finland towards the end of 2019, and that they were overvalued in Norway and Sweden. There are no signs of explosive house price developments in Finland, Norway, or Sweden over the sample period. There are, however, signs of explosive house price dynamics in Denmark before the crash in 2007. My results suggest that interest rate changes have a major impact on fundamental house prices in all countries, and that interest rate developments have been important drivers of fundamental house prices over the past 10 years. Keywords: Cointegration; Explosive Roots; Housing Bubbles. JEL classication: C22; C32; C51; C52; C53; G01; R21 ∗This is the rst draft of a paper prepared for the 2021 Nordic Economic Policy Review.I am grateful to Erling Røed Larsen for fruitful discussions, comments, and suggestions that have contributed to improve the manuscript. Thanks also to Hanna Putkuri for sharing data on the Finnish housing market, Svend Greniman Andersen and Marcus Mølbak Ingholt for assisting me with the Danish data, Robert Emanuelsson for help with the Swedish data, and Sverre Mæhlum and Anders Lund for assistance with Norwegian data.
    [Show full text]
  • Children and Nearby Nature: a Nationwide Parental Survey from Norway
    Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 17 (2016) 116–125 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Urban Forestry & Urban Greening j ournal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ufug Children and nearby nature: A nationwide parental survey from Norway a,∗ a b a c V. Gundersen , M. Skår , L. O’Brien , L.C. Wold , G. Follo a Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Fakkelgården, NO-2624 Lillehammer, Norway b Society and Biosecurity Forest Research, Alice Holt Lodge, Farnham, Surrey GU10 4LH, United Kingdom c Centre for Rural Research, Universitetssenteret Dragvoll, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: The aim of this paper is to describe the availability of and use of nearby outdoor spaces along a nature Received 14 April 2015 continuum by Norwegian children. We carried out a nationwide survey of 3 160 parents with children Received in revised form 9 February 2016 aged 6–12 years, using a comprehensive web-based questionnaire. Results from the survey show forests Accepted 4 April 2016 are the most common outdoor space in residential areas in Norway. In all, 97% of parents state that Available online 14 April 2016 their children have access to forests within walking or cycling distance from home. When it comes to suitability for play, 88% state that their child, in general, has good or very good opportunities for play in Keywords: nearby nature. A key finding of the study is that nearby nature spaces have a much more sporadic daily use Childhood by children than outdoor developed spaces such as playgrounds and sports facilities.
    [Show full text]
  • Fertility Trends After the Financial Crisis in Norway
    Fertility trends after the financial crisis in Norway Lars Dommermuth1 and Trude Lappegård Research Department, Statistics Norway Extended abstract for the European Population Conference 2016 Session 5: Recession and fertility Please do not cite without permission from the authors Abstract In research on fertility and family demography, the Nordic welfare states are often described as role models, as their active family and labour market policy supports couples to combine dual-earner careers with family life. The comparatively high and stable fertility rate in these countries is often seen as a positive result of various policy measures related to families and the labour market. Norway is one of the Nordic welfare states and profits in addition from a robust economy as an oil- exporting country. The global financial crisis of 2007-2008 lead only to a slight increase in unemployment rates in Norway. Nevertheless, we could observe a constant decline in the total fertility rate (TFR) in Norway since 2010. While the TFR was at 1.98 in 2009, it dropped down to 1.73 in 2015. To increase our understanding of the recent decline of the Norwegian TFR, we decompose the annual TFR by age, parity and education. Our analyses are based on administrative register data, including all registered births in the period from 1990 to 2015. We observe a new postponement of first-births after 2009. Together with a long-term decrease in higher order birth rates, this lead to the observed decline in the TFR since 2010. Second birth rates remained comparatively constant throughout the whole observed period.
    [Show full text]
  • Assimilation Effects on Infant Mortality Among Immigrants in Norway
    Discussion Papers Statistics Norway Research department No. 741 • May 2013 Jonas Minet Kinge and Tom Kornstad Assimilation effects on infant mortality among immigrants in Norway Discussion Papers No. 741, May 2013 Statistics Norway, Research Department Jonas Minet Kinge and Tom Kornstad Assimilation effects on infant mortality among immigrants in Norway Abstract: The wellbeing of children of immigrant mothers is of great concern worldwide. In this study, we investigate the relationship between infant mortality and maternal country of origin and whether or not this relationship varies with the number of years since maternal migration. We use an extensive dataset consisting of all births in Norway from 1992 to 2010 augmented by source country and other maternal characteristics. By measuring the source country infant mortality rate at the time the mother came to Norway, we are able to account for circumstances in the country the mother left behind. There are two main findings. Firstly, maternal source country characteristics are significantly associated with the infant mortality rate in Norway. Those with a maternal background from countries with a high infant mortality rate (e.g. countries in Africa and Asia) have a persistently higher infant mortality rate than those from countries with a low infant mortality rate (e.g. countries in Europe). Secondly, an assimilation process takes place, since the effect of maternal source country characteristics declines with the number of years since maternal migration. Hence, those with a non- native maternal background have a higher infant mortality rate upon arrival, but the gap is eliminated after 20 years in Norway. The results cannot be explained by observable characteristics such as maternal age at birth, area of residence, maternal education or marital status.
    [Show full text]
  • Does Integration Change Gender Attitudes? the Effect of Randomly Assigning Women to Traditionally Male Teams
    DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES IZA DP No. 11323 Does Integration Change Gender Attitudes? The Effect of Randomly Assigning Women to Traditionally Male Teams Gordon B. Dahl Andreas Kotsadam Dan-Olof Rooth FEBRUARY 2018 DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES IZA DP No. 11323 Does Integration Change Gender Attitudes? The Effect of Randomly Assigning Women to Traditionally Male Teams Gordon B. Dahl UC San Diego and IZA Andreas Kotsadam Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research Dan-Olof Rooth SOFI, Stockholm University and IZA FEBRUARY 2018 Any opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and not those of IZA. Research published in this series may include views on policy, but IZA takes no institutional policy positions. The IZA research network is committed to the IZA Guiding Principles of Research Integrity. The IZA Institute of Labor Economics is an independent economic research institute that conducts research in labor economics and offers evidence-based policy advice on labor market issues. Supported by the Deutsche Post Foundation, IZA runs the world’s largest network of economists, whose research aims to provide answers to the global labor market challenges of our time. Our key objective is to build bridges between academic research, policymakers and society. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author. IZA – Institute of Labor Economics Schaumburg-Lippe-Straße 5–9 Phone: +49-228-3894-0 53113 Bonn, Germany Email: [email protected] www.iza.org IZA DP No.
    [Show full text]
  • The State Ownership Report 2011
    Rygg = 8 mm THE STATE OWNERSHIP REPORT 2011 OWNERSHIP REPORT THE STATE THE STATE OWNERSHIP REPORT 2011 Ministry of Trade and Industry P.O. Box 8014 Dep NO-0030 Oslo Temporary office address Akersgata 13, 0158 Oslo (at Innovation Norway) Phone: (+47) 22 24 90 90 Fax: (+47) 22 24 01 30 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.regjeringen.no/nhd www.eierberetningen.no K-0721 E Contents The Norwegian State Ownership Report 2011 comprises 52 companies in which the ministries administer the State’s direct ownership interests. The report covers the companies where the State as owner mainly has commercial objectives and the most important companies with sectoral policy objectives. PAGE PAGE PAGE Foreword by the Minister 3 Companies with commercial Petoro AS 86 If you have a smart phone with QR software The State Ownership Report 2011 4 and other specific, defined objectives Simula Research Laboratory AS 87 The Year 2011 for the State as a shareholder 6 Eksporfinans ASA 61 SIVA SF 88 simply scan this QR code, Return and values 12 Electronic Chart Centre AS 62 Statnett SF 89 and you will be taken directly to www.regjeringen.no/nhd Key figures describing financial developments 18 Kommunalbanken AS 63 Statskog SF 90 where there is more information. Other key figures 24 NSB AS 64 UNINETT AS 91 External articles 32 Posten Norge AS 65 University Centre in Svalbard AS 92 The State’s administration of its ownership 38 Statkraft SF 66 AS Vinmonopolet 93 There are also QR codes that will take you to the companies’ websites Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani AS 67 in the presentation of the companies.
    [Show full text]
  • Legal Advances and Demographic Developments Ofsame-Sex Unions
    Gunnar Andersson, Turid Noack Legal advances and demographic developments of same-sex unions in Scandinavia Rechtliche Fortschritte und demographische Entwicklungen bei den gleichgeschlechtlichen Lebensgemeinschaften in Skandinavien Abstract: Zusammenfassung: In 2009, Norway and Sweden completed their Im Jahre 2009 schlossen Norwegen und Schwe­ process of granting same-sex couples the same den das Gesetzgebungsverfahren, das gleichge­ rights to marriage as those granted to couples of schlechtlichen Paare die gleiche Rechte auf Heirat opposite sexes. Following the introduction of a wie gegengeschlechtlichen Paaren gewährte, ab. specific civil status for couples of the same sex, Im Gefolge der Einführung einer besonderen the registered partnership, in 1993 and 1995, both Zivilstandes für gleichgeschlechtliche Paare, die countries adopted fully gender-neutral marriage registrierte Partnerschaft in den Jahren 1993 bzw. legislation in 2009. In the present article, we de­ 1995, führten beide Länder im Jahre 2009 eine scribe the road to gender-neutral marriage in vollkommen geschlechtsneutrale Ehegesetzge­ Scandinavia and map out some of the demo­ bung ein. Im vorliegenden Beitrag beschrieben graphic developments of same-sex partnerships wir den Weg zur geschlechtsneutralen Eheschlie­ and marriages. We demonstrate a recent switch to ßung in Skandinavien und stellen einige demo­ higher female than male same-sex union forma­ graphische Entwicklungen hinsichtlich gleich­ tion, and also a higher level of female than male geschlechtlicher Partnerschaft und Eheschließung same-sex marriage dissolution. These demo­ dar. Wir zeigen auf, dass es in der letzten Zeit zu graphic patterns are similar across all countries of einer Trendwende kam: gleichgeschlechtliche Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Partnerschaften werden nun häufiger zwischen weiblichen als zwischen männlichen Partnern ge­ gründet und dass die Trennungs-/Scheidungsrate unter weiblichen Partnerinnen höher ist als zwis­ chen männlichen Partnern.
    [Show full text]
  • NORWAY VET in Europe – Country Report 2011
    NORWAY VET in Europe – Country Report 2011 1 This country report is part of a series of reports on vocational education and training produced for each EU Member State plus Norway and Iceland by members of ReferNet, a network established by Cedefop (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training). The opinions expressed in this report are not necessarily those of Cedefop. ReferNet reports are based on a common template and are intended for use in an online database available at: http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Information-services/browse-national-vet- systems.aspx Therefore, the reader may encounter repetitions in content. The preparation of this report has been co-financed by the European Community. Title: Norway. VET in Europe – Country Report 2010 Author: ReferNet Norway 2 Abstract: This is an overview of the VET system in Norway. Information is presented according to the following themes: 1: General context – framework for the knowledge society 2: Modernizing VET to support LLL, internationalization and mobility 3: VET to support recovery from the crisis 4: Historical background, legislative and institutional framework 5: Initial vocational education and training 6: Continuing vocational education and training 7: Training VET teachers and trainers 8: Matching VET provision (skills) with labour market needs (jobs) 9: Lifelong guidance for lifelong learning and sustainable employment 10: Financing: investment in human resources 11: Authors, sources, bibliography, acronyms and abbreviations This overview has been prepared
    [Show full text]
  • The Success Culture of Nordic Football: the Cases of the National Men's
    Sport in Society Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics ISSN: 1743-0437 (Print) 1743-0445 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/fcss20 The success culture of Nordic football: the cases of the national men’s teams of Norway in the 1990s and Iceland in the 2010s Frode Telseth & Vidar Halldorsson To cite this article: Frode Telseth & Vidar Halldorsson (2017): The success culture of Nordic football: the cases of the national men’s teams of Norway in the 1990s and Iceland in the 2010s, Sport in Society, DOI: 10.1080/17430437.2017.1390928 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2017.1390928 Published online: 01 Nov 2017. Submit your article to this journal View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=fcss20 Download by: [Vidar Halldorsson] Date: 01 November 2017, At: 07:39 SPORT IN SOCIETY, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2017.1390928 The success culture of Nordic football: the cases of the national men’s teams of Norway in the 1990s and Iceland in the 2010s Frode Telsetha and Vidar Halldorssonb aDepartment of Sports, Physical Education and Outdoor Studies, University College of Southeast Norway, Bø, Norway; bDepartment of Sociology, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland ABSTRACT Every now and then – but with surprising regularity – small nations break through to the international level in sports and attract the attention of the global sports world. This paper focuses on two such occasions in men’s international football: the Norwegian national team in the 1990s and Iceland’s national team in the 2010s.
    [Show full text]
  • Elections and Political Communication in the Nordic Countries
    Chapter 11 Elections and political communication in the Nordic countries David Nicolas Hopmann & Rune Karlsen Abstract This chapter is a review of the main features of elections and the related political communication and campaigning in the Nordic countries. The focus is on na- tional election campaigns in Norway, Sweden, mainland Finland, and mainland Denmark, with occasional references to Iceland and to other types of election campaigns. The first part of the chapter begins with a discussion of the rules and regulations governing elections across the Nordics. This discussion is followed by a review of the rules and regulations governing election campaign communica- tion. The second part of this chapter presents the research programmes of voters and voting behaviour in the Nordic countries, as well as research programmes on election campaign communication. The goal of this second part is not to provide a detailed overview of past findings, but to reveal crucial similarities and differences with respect to elections and political communication across the Nordic countries. Keywords: political communication, election campaigns, electoral rules, turnout, voting behaviour Introduction The Nordic countries, and even more so the three Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, are often seen as belonging to one family with roughly similar political and media systems (Knutsen, 2017; Syvertsen et al., 2014). They are often grouped together or provide the basis for comparative research employing a most-similar systems design. Indeed, in many respects these countries are alike. For instance, all Nordic countries have multi-party systems, strong public service broadcasting, and high electoral turnout – at least compared to other countries.
    [Show full text]
  • A Review of Family Demographics and Family Policies in the Nordic Countries
    50 Anne Skevik Grødem ISSN 2335-2337. BALTIC JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE. December 2014, No 3 A REVIEW OF FAMILY DEMOGRAPHICS AND FAMILY POLICIES IN THE NORDIC COUNTRIES Anne Skevik Grødem Family policies in the Nordic countries gain international attention.1 An important reason for this is that they appear to produce good results: the Nordic countries combine comparatively high levels of fertility with high female employment rates and low rates of child poverty. Feminists, anti-poverty activists, and social liberals generally tend to look to the Nordic countries with curiosity and admiration (Lister, 2009). Recently it has also been argued that the Nordic countries not only produce social equality and high levels of living, but also enact active policies targeted at families that enhance productivity and lay the foundation for economic success (e.g. Esping-Andersen, 2002). Such policies simultaneously encourage women to work outside the home, and create good conditions for children’s early education. Working mothers improve economic efficiency, broaden the tax base, and improve household income, thus reducing child poverty. It is hoped that early childhood education will create more equal life chances for children and secure a productive labour force for the future (cf. Esping-Andersen, 2002; Morel, Palier, & Palme, 2012). Whether viewed from the perspective of gender equality, child welfare, or social investment, then, Nordic family policies appear to have some very useful features. Not all the international attention is flattering, however. Conservative, mainly American, authors have drawn images of the Nordic countries as dystopias of family decline (Kurtz, 2004; Popenoe, 1988). They point to high rates of extramarital childbearing and divorce in these countries, and also to social attitudes, which are accepting of such practices.
    [Show full text]