Dølvik, Jon Erik, Tone Fløtten, Jon M. Hippe & Bård Jordfald (2014): “The Nordic Model Towards 2030. A New Chapter?” Fafo-rapport 2014:16.

Abstract

Dolvik, Jon Erik, Tone Flotten, Jon M. Hippe & Bard Jordfald (2014): Nordic Model Towards 2030. A New Chapter? Fafo-rapport 2014:16.1The Nordic model seems to be a familiar and well-defined concept today, yet we can find diverse interpretations of this famous model. For many, it refers to some kind of normative and idealized picture of a good society, uniting economic efficiency and social equity in the best possible way. For some scholars and politicians, it is rather an analytical tool to summarize the common characteristics of the economic, social, and political developments in five countries in the North of Europe. And for some researchers, it is difficult to find only a single Nordic model, and therefore they prefer to use the plural, that is, five different Nordic models, which however share some basic commonalities. Needless to say, all standpoints can be defended, and it depends on the type of approach in question which alternative is chosen. In the present, more analytical context, the common characteristics of the model are emphasized, although also differences between the Nordic countries are taken into account in many connections.The publication, entitled Nordic model towards 2030. A new Chapter?, is based on the work of a Nordic research project that has highlighted how national and international developments have affected the Nordic countries, how the challenges have been met, and what is to be expected in the future. In particular, the project is closely connected with the labor movement, and in addition to the analysis, the report identifies main challenges to the Nordic labor movement. In this review, the emphasis will be on the more analytical part of the publication. The publication is the project's final report, summarizing the results and insights from the 17 subreports of the so-called NordMod project. These subreports, including many reports in English, are also interesting to read.Since NordMod2030 tries to identify the evolution, current difficulties, and future challenges of the Nordic model as a whole, issues relating to the working life are not alone at the center of the analysis. However, these issues form one of the three basic pillars of the model, as understood in the research project, and are connected to the other pillars in a systematic way. Thus, we find macro-economic governance, organized working life, and extensive welfare systems as the three basic pillars of the Nordic model. Strong institutions have laid the basis for coordination between different policy fields in which cooperation between the social partners and political authorities has played a central role. Moreover, crises and conflicts in working life and politics have often been tackled through broad compromise. This is what the authors call conflict partnership, giving as a key to understanding the historical evolution of the Nordic model. From this perspective we should estimate how these five countries have managed to adapt to external changes and crisis, and how they have been able to invest in long-term human resources development and social security. According to the authors, they have managed to reconcile efficiency and equity to a greater extent than other European countries. The three pillars or cornerstones of the model form, in turn, the analytical background from which to study the developments, challenges, and crises of the five countries, in particular in 1990 to 2014 and in the future.On the basis of this framework follow the questions, which are perhaps not quite clearly formulated in the publication but are anyway dealt with: has this triangle model survived through various crises, and will it survive in the future-and in which form?The main part of the report consists of what the authors name as a status analysis, summarizing developments in 1990 to 2014 under the topic Crises, consolidation and renewal. However, this is actually not a proper crises analysis, since even if many problems and crises are outlined, the responses to the new problems rather than explanations of the crisis form the focus of the study. …