The Hong Kong of Scandinavia

by Will Wilkinson on April 30, 2008

The Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Denmark the best place in the world to do business. The actual Hong Kong is ranked 7th. These United States finish just under Sweden. If only we could adopt the Nordic model and have a less fettered capitalism!

[Via Nordophile Justin Fox]

Dain

Earth,

Sounds like Mutualism. Indeed it's overlooked by most.
Earthceuticals

I have to admit, socialism with a free market economy is a concept I had never thought of before. Maye the democrats in this country could re-invent themselves in this light.
KJ

Agreed. Check out Galbraith in the American Prospect recently: http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=why_populists_need_to_rethink_trade

"The Scandinavian countries are egalitarian. They have universal unions, high minimum wages, and a strong welfare state. But they also are highly open. They practice free trade. Business there is free to import, export, and outsource. Business there is free to hire and fire. And yet the Scandinavians enjoy, most of the time, the lowest unemployment rates in Europe.

The secret is in the wages. If you are a business in Sweden or Norway, there is one thing you are not free to do. You are not free to cut your wages. You are not free to compete by going after cut-rate workers, either native or immigrant. You are not free to undercut the union rate. Successful businesses must, therefore, find other ways to compete. They do it by keeping productivity high. This means that advanced industries thrive in Scandinavia, while backward ones die out. (And that progressive businessmen prosper, while reactionaries fade away.) As a result, the economies stay competitive. The tax and welfare systems then make sure that everyone has enough to live on."