EBOOK Nordic Capitalisms and Globalization:New Forms of Economic Organization and Welfare Institutio

In the early 1990s the Nordic countries were considered to be in a serious        situation. The costs of welfare states, generous unemployment benefits, high        taxation rates, strong unions, and centralized wage bargaining were thought to be        undermining their competitiveness in an age of rapid globalization. By 2005 however,        they all ranked at the top of a number of performance indexes on economic        competitiveness and sustainability. Citizens in the Nordic countries continue to        participate in andbenefit from globalization on a much wider scale than in any other        similarly highly developed country, and these countries increasingly provide        templates within the EU for imitation and social innovation.This book investigates        how and why welfare services, active labour market institutions, and public policies        were re-combined into enabling and risk-sharing mechanisms to stimulate innovation,        and how this made it possible for firms to change their work organization and pursue        highly rewarding and distinctive globalization strategies. Through detailed analysis        of Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, this book reveals the dynamics and        transformations of their national business systems, and theemerging new patterns of        interaction between firms, labour markets, and institutions. It will be valuable        addition to the literature on social innovation and institutional        entrepreneurship.