Nordic Capitalisms and Globalization

Provides detailed analysis of four Nordic countries - Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway Covers their history, historic national business systems, recent political and institutional reforms, and how they have adapted to globalization Investigates the pre-Financial Crisis situation of the Nordic countries and how this relates to the new dynamics in the global economy Crosses the divides between varieties of capitalism, national business system, welfare state analysis, national innovation systems, and economic geography to pursue a number of new agendas in the political economy in the age of globalization. Includes reinterpretation of the challenges facing highly developed countries in the new world order and how economic development may be constructed in the future In the early 1990s the Nordic countries were considered to be in a serious situation. The costs of welfare states, generous unemployment benefits, high taxation rates, strong unions, and centralized wage bargaining were thought to be undermining their competitiveness in an age of rapid globalization. By 2005 however, they all ranked at the top of a number of performance indexes on economic competitiveness and sustainability. Citizens in the Nordic countries continue to participate in and benefit from globalization on a much wider scale than in any other similarly highly developed country, and these countries increasingly provide templates within the EU for imitation and social innovation. This book investigates how and why welfare services, active labour market institutions, and public policies were re-combined into enabling and risk-sharing mechanisms to stimulate innovation, and how this made it possible for firms to change their work organization and pursue highly rewarding and distinctive globalization strategies. Through detailed analysis of Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, this book reveals the dynamics and transformations of their national bus.