Northern Lights

The nations of Scandinavia and Finland, or Nordic Europe, continue to provide living proof that economic prosperity can be combined with social equality and environmental responsibility. This book, written from an Australian perspective, explores previous outside policy interest in the Nordic nations and outlines some lessons which the Englishspeaking world, in particular, can learn now from the achievements of the four main Nordic European nations. In terms of income distribution these countries are still much more equal than Australia, Britain, New Zealand and Canada – and nearly twice as equal as the United States. Workforce participation rates are high in the Nordic nations but working hours remain within reasonable limits, enabling genuine work–life balance. Sweden has played a leading role in improving wellbeing, and lowering poverty, among children. Finland has achieved stunning success in schools since the 1990s. Denmark invests in comprehensive skills training as part of providing security, as well as flexibility, in people’s employment lives. Norway’s taxation approach and other measures ensure that its natural resources are used sustainably for the entire nation’s longterm wealth. All of these achievements are relevant to the policy choices for the future which Australia, and other Englishspeaking countries, can now make.

“This brilliant book, written in a journalistic style, is one of the most engaging books on economic and social policy I have read. It is rare and positive for an academic writer to write in such an understandable way for a general audience. -- Susan Cahill, Presenter and Producer, Talking Books, Newstalk FM Radio, Dublin, Ireland”

The "magic of the markets" philosophy that has failed so miserably wherever it has been tried is not the only option open to us. Northern Lights tells us how the Nordic nations have adopted people-focused and economically sustainable ways of operating.

-- Professor Peter Doherty, winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine

Dr Andrew Scott is Associate Professor in Politics and Policy at Deakin University, Melbourne. He is the author of four previous books and numerous book chapters and articles on aspects of politics, policy and history, frequently involving international comparisons. For several years Andrew has been researching Englishspeaking nations’ past interest in – and lessons they can learn from – the policy achievements of the Nordic European nations.

The nations of Scandinavia and Finland, or Nordic Europe, continue to provide living proof that economic prosperity can be combined with social equality and environmental responsibility. This book, written from an Australian perspective, explores previous outside policy interest in the Nordic nations and outlines some lessons which the English-speaking world, in particular, can learn now from the achievements of the four main Nordic European nations. In terms of income distribution these countries are still much more equal than Australia, Britain, New Zealand and Canada and nearly twice as equal as the United States. Workforce participation rates are high in the Nordic nations but working hours remain within reasonable limits; enabling genuine work-life balance. Sweden has played a leading role in improving wellbeing, and lowering poverty, among children. Finland has achieved stunning success in schools since the 1990s. Denmark invests in comprehensive skills training as part of providing security, as well as flexibility, in peoples employment lives. Norway's taxation approach ensures that natural resources are used sustainably for the entire nations long-term wealth.All of these achievements are relevant to the policy choices for the future which Australia, and other English-speaking countries, can now make.

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