Denmark basically has the most indebted households on earth. Their economy hasn't expanded since 2007.
Finland has been in an eight year recession / stagnation. Their household debt to income ratio doubled from 2002-2012 or so. They've got a near 10% unemployment rate, which has been getting worse. Their economy hasn't expanded since 2007.
Sweden has done slightly better than those two, courtesy of market friendly reforms they performed a few decades ago. Prior to that reform, Sweden had several decades of terrible economic performance. Their household debt to income levels are also vastly inflated and unsustainable, nearly at 200%.
Norway is falling into a recession, taking the same commodity hit Canada and Australia are. Their economic success and much celebrated welfare state is almost solely dependent on the price of oil remaining high. There is now talk of having to cut into the sovereign fund to pay for deficits and spending demands. They have no other major exports to pick up the slack. Their GDP lifting off occurred directly in line with the price of oil soaring after 2001. They got rich on the back of irrational US policies around the dollar and the Iraq war. Prior to that, their GDP per capita was no better than the US or similar nations. Their household debt to income ratio is also dramatic, around 220%. That won't go well with a ten year slump in oil prices. If oil hangs around $40-$60 for ten years, Norway will look very different than it does today.
The picture is obvious: to maintain their standard of living, Scandinavia has been living far beyond its means to fake a better reality than the one they would otherwise have.
Democratic Socialist parties have been in power in many Scandinavian countries for decades. The current systems evolved from Socialism - and Democratic Socialism really defines the modern, functioning form of Socialism -- a type of Socialism that provides a positive alternative to the unfettered Capitalism suggested by the original poster.
The ignorance of economic systems here on HN is just unbelievable. Scandinavian countries are very pro free trade and capitalist. They have that alongside a relatively large welfare system. That is not socialism. They are capitalist with few regulations and few state owned enterprises. It's shocking how the myth continues to persist among the economically uninformed.
Democratic Socialism? You have no idea what you are talking about and have clearly received this misinformation from a Bernie Sanders talking point (bless the man, but he is has done nothing to help rectify the broken American political lexicon.). The ideology that has pervaded Nordic politics for the past decades is Social Democracy, not Democratic Socialism. There is a very significant difference.
Scandinavia is in deep trouble financially.
Denmark basically has the most indebted households on earth. Their economy hasn't expanded since 2007.
Finland has been in an eight year recession / stagnation. Their household debt to income ratio doubled from 2002-2012 or so. They've got a near 10% unemployment rate, which has been getting worse. Their economy hasn't expanded since 2007.
Sweden has done slightly better than those two, courtesy of market friendly reforms they performed a few decades ago. Prior to that reform, Sweden had several decades of terrible economic performance. Their household debt to income levels are also vastly inflated and unsustainable, nearly at 200%.
Norway is falling into a recession, taking the same commodity hit Canada and Australia are. Their economic success and much celebrated welfare state is almost solely dependent on the price of oil remaining high. There is now talk of having to cut into the sovereign fund to pay for deficits and spending demands. They have no other major exports to pick up the slack. Their GDP lifting off occurred directly in line with the price of oil soaring after 2001. They got rich on the back of irrational US policies around the dollar and the Iraq war. Prior to that, their GDP per capita was no better than the US or similar nations. Their household debt to income ratio is also dramatic, around 220%. That won't go well with a ten year slump in oil prices. If oil hangs around $40-$60 for ten years, Norway will look very different than it does today.
The picture is obvious: to maintain their standard of living, Scandinavia has been living far beyond its means to fake a better reality than the one they would otherwise have.