Reform Capacity and Macroeconomic Performance in the Nordic Countries

Edited by Torben M. Andersen, Michael Bergman, and Svend E. Hougaard Jensen

Provides an in depth characterisation of the Nordic economic and social model
Explains how and why Nordic countries managed to implement structural reforms after the financial crises in the 1980s and 1990s
Provides new perspectives on the current crisis in the Eurozone, by showing differences in how economic crises are handled in Southern and Northern Europe, respectively
Lessons drawn from the Nordic experiences for the resolution of the current crisis in the Eurozone and how future crises can be prevented
Provides extensive policy discussion relevant for today's crisis in the Eurozone

Reform Capacity and Macroeconomic Performance in the Nordic Countries

Edited by Torben M. Andersen, Michael Bergman, and Svend E. Hougaard Jensen

Description

The outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008 has had significant effects on economic activity, unemployment, and public finances for all European countries. However, European economies do not form a homogenous region, and any serious analysis of macroeconomic imbalances in Europe must account for the fact that different economic and political models and circumstances operate across the continent. This book focuses on the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) which have a relatively good record of undertaking fiscal and structural reforms after their own financial and debt crises in the 1980s and 1990s. The Nordic countries are small and open economies, well-known for their high income levels, high employment rates, organized labour markets, a relatively equal distribution of incomes, and large public sectors. From this perspective, the book asks whether there are lessons that might be learned from the Nordic economies. Is there a distinctive Nordic model that could be usefully followed, by other small open economies, in terms of fiscal and monetary policy design, labour market policies and reforms, and financial and housing market regulation? It is inappropriate to define the Nordic model in terms of a common set of policies. Since the key characteristics, including the overarching objectives and supporting institutions, have strong historical foundations, copying and pasting them to other countries is not easily done. Even though the Nordic experiences are not directly transferable, they may add new knowledge about the importance of institutional design, fiscal consolidation, and structural reforms not only for macroeconomic performance but also for how to preserve key objectives such as social balance and equity.

Reform Capacity and Macroeconomic Performance in the Nordic Countries

Edited by Torben M. Andersen, Michael Bergman, and Svend E. Hougaard Jensen

1:Macroeconomic Perspectives on the Nordic Economies: Past, Present, and Future, Torben M. Andersen, Michael Bergman, and Svend E. Hougaard Jensen
2:Collective Risk Sharing: The Social Safety Net and Employment, Torben M. Andersen
Commentary on Chapter 2: Social Trust and the Efficiency-Equity Trade-Off, Andreas Bergh
3:Missing the Link? On the Political Economy of Nordic Egalitarianism, Erling Barth and Karl Ove Moene
Commentary on Chapter 3, Niels Blomgren-Hansen
4:Labour Market Policies in Denmark: A Story of Structural Reforms and Evidence Based Policy, Michael Svarer
Commentary on Chapter 4, Michael Burda
5:What Scope for Monetary Policy? Experiences from the Nordic Countries after the Financial Crisis, Anders Møller Christensen and Niels Lynggård Hansen
Commentary on Chapter 5, Jesper Rangvid
6:Monetary Policy and Exchange Rate Stabilization in Norway and Sweden, Hilde C. Bjørnland and Junior Maih
Commentary on Chapter 6, Roberto M. Billi
7:House Prices in Denmark and Sweden, Michael Bergman, Bjørn Tangaa Sillemann, Peter Birch Sørensen
Commentary on Chapter 7, Niels Arne Dam
8:Reforming the Fiscal Framework: The Case of Sweden 1973-2013, Lars Jonung
Commentary on Chapter 8, Henrik Braconier
9:Shaping the Fiscal Policy Framework: Lessons from Fiscal Consolidations in Denmark and Sweden, Michael Bergman, Michael M. Hutchison , and Svend E. Hougaard Jensen
Commentary on Chapter 9, Steinar Holden
10:A Crisis Not Wasted: Institutional and Structural Reforms Behind Norway's Strong Macroeconomic Performance, Erling Steigum and Øystein Thøgersen
Commentary on Chapter 10, Hans Tson Söderström
11:Finland and Sweden in Cross-Country Comparison: What are the Lessons?, Sixten Korkman and Antti Suvanto
Commentary on Chapter 11, Fredrik Anderson
12:Iceland: How Could This Happen?, Thorvaldur Gylfason
Commentary on Chapter 12, Søren Bo Nielsen
13:Challenges to the Nordic Model, Seppo Honkapohja

Reform Capacity and Macroeconomic Performance in the Nordic Countries

Edited by Torben M. Andersen, Michael Bergman, and Svend E. Hougaard Jensen

Author Information

Edited by Torben M. Andersen, Professor, University of Aarhus, Michael Bergman, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen, and Svend E. Hougaard Jensen, Professor, Copenhagen Business School

Torben M. Andersen is Professor at the School of Economics and Management. He received his PhD from CORE, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, 1986, and holds a Lic. Oecon (1984) from University of Aarhus, and a MSc, from London School of Economics 1981. His primary research and teaching interests are in the economics of the welfare state, labour economics, and fiscal policy. He is affiliated to a number of research institutions including CEPR (London), CESifo (Munich), IZA (Bonn), and SNS (Stockholm).

Michael Bergman is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He previously served as a Member of the Swedish Fiscal Policy Council (2007-2012). Dr. Bergman's fields of research are macroeconomics and international finance. He has published several articles on business cycles, fiscal policy and exchange rates as well as the European Monetary Union.

Svend E. Hougaard Jensen currently works as a Professor of Economics at Copenhagen Business School. On leave from academia, he has served as head of the Division of Economic Analysis within the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs. His research has focused on topics such as macroeconomic effects of changing demographics, intergenerational (re)distribution, sustainability of public debt, monetary unification and fiscal policy, structural reforms and macroeconomic performance. He has published numerous articles in learned journals and books, and he is the author/editor of several books.

Contributors:

Torben M. Andersen, University of Aarhus
Fredrik Anderson
Erling Barth
Andreas Bergh, Lund University
Michael Bergman, University of Copenhagen
Roberto M. Billi, Sveriges Riksbank
Hilde C. Bjørnland, BI Norwegian Business School and Norges Bank
Niels Blomgren-Hansen, Professor emeritus, Copenhagen Business School
Henrik Braconier
Michael Burda
Anders Møller Christensen, Danmarks Nationalbank
Niels Arne Dam, Danmarks Nationalbank
Thorvaldur Gylfason, University of Iceland
Niels Lynggård Hansen, Danmarks Nationalbank
Steinar Holden, University of Oslo
Seppo Honkapohja, Bank of Finland
Michael M. Hutchison, University of California, Santa Cruz
Svend E. Hougaard Jensen, Copenhagen Business School
Lars Jonung, Lund University
Sixten Korkman, Aalto University School of Business
Junior Maih, Norges Bank
Karl Ove Moene
Søren Bo Nielsen
Jesper Rangvid, Copenhagen Business School
Bjørn Tangaa Sillemann, Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Interior
Hans Tson Söderström
Peter Birch Sørensen, University of Copenhagen
Erling Steigum, BI Norwegian Business School
Antti Suvanto, Bank of Finland
Michael Svarer, University of Aarhus
Øystein Thøgersen, NHH Norwegian School of Economics