Labor and the Nordic Model of Social Democracy

I am quite fond of this article, written by Karl Ove Moene, who isProfessor at the University of Oslo from l987, scientific Advisor at the Center of Applied Research in Oslo and was an editor of the Scandinavian Journal of Economics from 1992 to 1999.I have the feeling that this view of the Nordic Model, well documented, is caoturing the essence of what the other countries see as the Nordic Model.

Michael Wallerstein had a long-term research interest in social democracy in the Nordic countries, a theme that we worked on together for many years. Our first paper on the topic praised the Nordic achievements, but claimed that social democracy was in retreat. As we saw it, -both the egalitarian distribution of income and the security of income that distinguished social democratic societies from other capitalist democracies are declining‖ (Moene and Wallerstein 1993a: 231-232). As time went on and we continued our work, we became less certain that the era of social democracy was actually over, and more certain that whatever the future of the social democracy in Europe, the Nordic lessons were highly relevant for social reformers in other parts of the world, including developing countries.

The societal model of northern Europe goes under many names. While the Swedes call the system the -Swedish model, the Danes and Norwegians insist on the -Scandinavian model. More recently, representatives of the European Union have started to use -Nordic model, which now seems to be the most popular term. Outside Europe the model is best known simply as -social democracy, a term that most Europeans associate with specific political parties and ideologies rather than with an economic and political system.

Nordic Democracy – Fact or Fancy

An article written by the Finnish President, Tarja Halonen, a well respected figure on the European science. As a citizen, democracy has begun to be my worries, not only after the US specific measures against the terrorism, bu also after seeing what happens in Italy and in France in the last years. We have to learn from the North.

Is global capitalism undermining western democracy?

A paper published in Finland by the famous Kalevi Sorsa Foundation (social democrat oriented) , and written by Vivien A. Schmidt. She is Jean Monnet Chair of European Integration, Professor of International Relations at Boston University and  visiting Professor at Sciences Po, Paris,  at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna, the European University Institute in Florence, the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne, the Universities of Paris and Lille, and visiting scholar at Nuffield College, Oxford University and at Harvard University, where she is currently a faculty affiliate in the Center for European Studies. This paper prepared for presentation for the Kalevi Sorsa Foundation Conference “Global Capitalism, Privatization, and the Challenges to Democracy”  which took place in Helsinki (7-8 November 2008)

Extract:

As for global governance, perhaps could also get to the stage where we could have a ‘treaty to end all treaties’ in a range of areas, to find a way out of the lowest common denominator approach to treaties. But where we cannot, as with labor issues, perhaps this is where the new social democratic activism should kick in. With regard to international labor standards, for example, one could use a system of ‘Ratcheting Labor Standards’ (RLS) based on the kinds of competitive over-sight practices already operative in other areas, to create competition among MNCs to engage in continual improvement of their treatment of labor, through monitoring via NGOs, and standards-setting bodies (Fung, Sabel and O’Rourke 2008).

The importance of age for the reallocation of labor

An interesting study from the Swedish Institute of Future Studies, about the links between the age of the workers and employment, on a long time period (data 1986-2002). This article has been written by Marie Gartell (Institute for Futures Studies, Stockholm University, Department of Economics), Ann-Christin Jans (Swedish Public Employment Service) and Helena Persson(The Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations) and could inspire people dealing with ageing workers policies.

Abstract
Using employer-employee data covering the whole Swedish economy over a uniquely long time period from 1986 to 2002, we examine how job and worker flows have been distributed across age groups. We find that job and worker flows vary by age groups, not only with respect to magnitude and variation, but with respect to direction as well.

Diversity and social cohesion in Sweden

The question of the integration policy is here particularly interesting: Australia, where this paper was presented ( 18-20 February 2003, University of Sydney), has had a specific immigration and integration policyand Charles Westin, a researcher at the Stockholm University,author of this document, had to adapt to this specific public, which is one of the interests of this particularly thorough analysis.

Abstract:

I will address the issue of the policies Sweden has adopted to integrate its
migrant population, and on the other hand its stand in relation to the indigenous Saami
population.

An Australian view on the Nordic Social Models

The Australian Review of Public Affairshas published in 2006 a very interesting article “Social democracy in northern Europe: Its relevance for Australia” written by Andrew Scott for The University of Melbourne and RMIT University. Dr Andrew Scott is an honorary Fellow of the Contemporary Europe Research Centre at The University of Melbourne, and is on leave from his position as a Senior Lecturer in the School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning at RMIT University. He is author of Running on Empty: ‘Modernising’ the British and Australian Labour Parties (Pluto Press), and many other publications about labour and social democratic parties. And his article proves that the Nordic models are also studied outside Europe.

ABSTRACT
Social democrats in English-speaking countries have frequently looked to Sweden
and its neighbours as offering a policy model that combines economic prosperity
with social equality.

Parental Leave in Sweden- A Policy Evaluation of the Swedish “Daddy-Month” Reform

Following a Swedish progressive reform, how the Swedish fathers took more parental leave, but how the result was not as good as planned… A study realised for the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn by John Ekberg, SOFI, Stockholm University, Rickard Eriksson, SOFI, Stockholm University and Guido Friebel,
University of Toulouse (EHESS and IDEI) in May 2005

The Finnish National Innovation System

Finland is, with Sweden, one of the most innovative country in the world, and it is useful to have a look at why. I have thought that this European report prepared by ERRIN (European Regions Research and Innovation Network) would be useful for those who lack a proper introduction to the Finnish innovation system, and could inspire us.

Executive Summary

The industrial countries of today are experiencing processes that are shaping their societies and industries towards a knowledge-based economy. In this development the flow of goods in most economic fields will soon be replaced by the flow of knowledge and information. Together with increasingly intensive international competition, individual countries and regions are hard-pressed to improve their capabilities to rapidly generate and diffuse knowledge.

From Norway, seven measures to promote equal pay for women and men

As usual, Norway is among the most advanced countries to promote equality between men and women. And Norway being today the main social democratic country in the region, we should not be surprised by the report “Gender and Pay: facts, analyses and measures to promote equal pay” presented on the 16th of May to the Norvegian government. You will find here a presentation and the proposed measures, but I recommend to all people interested to look at the full summary in english.

Social change and health in Sweden: 250 years of politics and practice

This remarkable book, written by Jan Sundin and Sam Willner, is an history of Public Health in Sweden, extremely detailed and interesting for the foreign (and Swedish) reader. I hope that you will be interested and buy it, it is worth it.

Introduction
This book is a shorter version of a recently published anthology in Swedish, with certain amendments and additions to make the contents more accessible to an international audience [1]. It is a historical journey
through 250 years of Swedish public health (epidemiological and demographic evidence, ideas, politics and practices) following the transition of Sweden from a traditional agricultural society to the “post-industrial”
world. Although based on Swedish experiences, the book also puts the country’s history into a wider international perspective. Sweden was of course not isolated from the rest of Europe and public health ideas and policies were formulated and practised in a European context.