Sitting atop the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, accumulated over decades of judicious management of national oil wealth, perhaps insulates Norway from realities that apply elsewhere.
I wouldn't say far more. As long as oil is in high demand, sure, 50% of their exports are shipping reliably. But Sweden's GDP is 30% larger, much more diversified, and will withstand the eventual contraction of petroleum based income. Take a look at their respective exports:
Sweden has twice the population and what? Three times the landmass?
Sweden also does not have an oil fund where it invested much of the dino profits from the last 60 years. The Norwegian one won't last forever, but I'd bet it'll last longer than any of us.
Don't get me wrong; Sweden has a decent economy and the standard of living is still amongst top-20 on the planet. Norway just struck black gold and scored higher.
I’m no expert, but I wonder what the long-term socioeconomic effects are of Sweden not having been involved in major wars or colonial empires for hundreds of years.
I think 3dbrow's answer is the correct response, but would also like to say is that economics is much larger than just monetary and fiscal policies at a state level. This is one of the reasons that behavioral economics has flourished in recent years, to help push back against some of the underlying assumptions that don't match human nature.
It also looks like Norway's economy is also having some trouble during this time [0], like many other nations. And finally, we need to be careful comparing specific economies like Norway to other nation's economies. Each country's economy is different, and prescribing something that works in an oil-rich, northern European country will probably not work in other parts of the world.
