The Nordic model rests on two pillars: the social safety net and the provision of services like education, childcare, and healthcare for all. It can also be characterized as an employment model, since its financial viability depends upon a high labor participation rate with very few working poor.
Economist Torben M. Andersen lays out the models structure and highlights factors important for understanding its economic performance. He then looks into specific policy areas based on Denmarks experiences and addresses the challenges arising from new technologies and globalization.
Torben M. Andersen is Professor at the Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University. He holds an M.Sc. from London School of Economics (1981), a Lic. Oecon from Aarhus University (1994), and a PhD from CORE, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium (1986).He is a fellow at international research centres, including CEPR (London), IZA (Bonn) and CESifo (Munich). He has been actively involved in policy in Denmark, the other Nordic countries, and the EU Commission. He has been the chairman of the Danish Economic Council and the Welfare Commission, and vice-chair of the Swedish Fiscal Policy Council.
