L'Allemagne, le Royaume uni et les Pays Bas ont imité les pays nordiques si bien qu'il est aujourd'hui impossible de parler sans ambiguïté d'un système "nordique"
"The whole Nordic Region – and much of the Western world – is discussing welfare policies at the moment. A solid foundation is needed for that debate. A close look at comparisons between the Nordic countries is a good way of learning."
Per Unckel, the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, opened a seminar about the Nordic welfare research programme with these words in Oslo on 11 May. He encouraged politicians to read the reports closely instead of drawing hasty conclusions and just indulging in traditional right-left trench warfare.
As the Norwegian Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion, Bjarne Håkon Hansen, was busy in Parliament, Secretary of State Laila Gustavsen spoke in his place. She agreed with Per Unckel that the Nordic countries face major challenges.
"Future research ought to focus on how to keep people in the labour market by making it more inclusive. Strategies to combat poverty are important too. Policy must be based on knowledge of what works well and what is less successful in the current welfare system", she suggested.
Is there still a peculiarly Nordic model ? Professor Jonathan Bradshaw of the University of York edited one of the reports funded by the Nordic welfare research programme.
As well as the Nordic countries, it compares Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands, all of whom have, to a certain extent "made up ground" on the Nordic countries, so the data no longer reveal an unambiguously Nordic model. The Nordic Region does still lead the way in jobs for women with children, which can be taken as a sign of the success of family policies in the Region, but the latest data reveals a fall in the proportion of Nordic GDP spent on child and family benefits and shows that Great Britain now spends relatively the highest amount in the sector.
Nordic welfare research programme: http://program.forskningsradet.no/nmr/om.html
Nordic co-operation on social services and health care: http://www.norden.org/social/sk
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