Exploring The NORDIC REGION...
Student Text Page No. 2: "Current Patterns"

Tourists who plane-hop from Reykjavik, Iceland, to the Nordic Region's other capital cities can catch a bird's-eye view of why the region hums. In addition to Reykjavik, the other Nordic capitals (Copenhagen, Denmark … Oslo, Norway … Stockholm, Sweden … Helsinki, Finland) are all busy seaports. Indeed, they are gateways for the trade on which these five nations depend.

Here's one example of how vital that trade is: In 2007, the ratio of Sweden's $176.5-billion exports to its gross domestic product (GDP) was roughly 53:100. In other words, for every $100.00 worth of goods and services that Sweden produced, it sold almost $53.00 worth overseas. Each of the other four Nordic nations had a high export ratio, too.

Success story. From Swedish cars and chemicals to Danish meats and machine tools, the success of Nordic exports can be traced to a common ingredient — quality control. Even when the product is a natural resource — petroleum from Norway, timber from Finland, fish from Iceland — its regional label promises satisfaction. No surprise! Scandinavians (an historic name shared by people in northernmost Europe) have been honing their production skills for centuries. Finnish paper and Danish windmills (which help provide renewable energy) are not simply "made." They're crafted....

Unique model. The petroleum beneath Norway's offshore waters was not tapped until the mid-1970s. But from the time the industry was born, Norway's government controlled it. That's not unusual in this region. Like its Nordic neighbors, Norway has a "mixed economy" — a combination of (a) many privately owned businesses and (b) a few state-controlled industries. Indeed, through taxes on the first source, and profits from the second, each nation has been able to develop its own version of what is called the "Scandinavian welfare model." This "model" is the system by which each nation provides social security, healthcare, and education to all its citizens.

All together.... The cultural traditions reflected in Nordic welfare laws date back to an era when Scandinavians lived in small farming or fishing villages and helped neighbors in need. Today, however, Nordic nations are highly urbanized, and more than 70 percent of their workers are in service industries. Thus, helping all one's neighbors is no longer easy. That's why Nordic societies accept the high taxes that help fund their welfare systems. By 2005, Sweden's tax receipts equaled about 50 percent of its GDP! The percentage was high in the other nations, too: Denmark, 50; Finland, 44; Norway, 44; Iceland, 41.
     To sustain such high taxes, governments in the Nordic nations strive to be flexible and far-sighted. Sweden, for example, gives its citizens control over some tax bills by allowing people to put part of what they owe into stock-market investments. And all Nordic governments spend heavily on high-tech research and higher education in order to help businesses stay competitive in the global market — even as they pay taxes, too.

Regional Matters. Even with such change, the values embedded in the Scandinavian model remain strong. Nordic people believe in equal rights — a belief that explains the big role women play in Nordic governments. (In 1980, Iceland's Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was the first woman ever to be elected as head of state by popular vote. And today, women form 47 percent of Sweden's parliament.) Nordic people respect cooperation, too. Since the 1950s, all five nations have been members of the Nordic Council, cooperating on such issues as environmental protection and hi-tech research.
     All in all, this region's successful track record helps us to ponder: What national values and priorities do the peoples of the Nordic Region have in common? How widespread are those values and priorities in today's world?