Journal of Social Sciences 3 (2): 43-51, 2007 ISSN 1549-3652 © 2007 Science Publications Corresponding Author: Bent Greve, Department of Society and Globalisation, Roskilde University, Denmark 43 What Characterise the Nordic Welfare State Model Bent Greve Department of Society and Globalisation, Roskilde University, Denmark Abstract: This article presents the main distinctive characteristics of the Nordic welfare states. These include, for example, full employment, high degree of equality, a high level of taxes and a high level of public spending on welfare. The article further presents data, which enables the reader to a comparison with welfare states in Europe and to analyse whether we are witnessing convergence in Europe and/or the withering away of the Nordic Model. The conclusion being that the Nordic Model is here to stay, although a movement in a European direction is underway. Keywords: European model, Nordic welfare state model, convergence, full employment, equality INTRODUCTION Describing what characterise the Nordic welfare state model is the core aim of this article. Furthermore, the article will analyse whether the model will continue to be different from other welfare state types. The Nordic welfare states have been, as other welfare states, under pressure from Europeanisation and globalization. These challenges for regional defined, historical developed and managed welfare states could be a reason for converging trends in welfare states. Furthermore, this could be a reason for the development of a more uniform and common European type of welfare states. This due to that it is to be expected, that a common European model would be under less pressure within the European Union and the Economic and Monetary Union as this could adapt to the economic possibilities. Pressure for change may apply in particular in the case of welfare states models with high emphasis on state financing, such as the Nordic welfare state model. A clear focus of this article is a depiction of the specific characteristics of the Nordic welfare state, but done in a comparative perspective and at the same time questioning and discussing convergence in a European perspective. The article uses the comparative methodology as this and models make it possible to have a mirror with which to compare the Nordic model. The pressure, it has been argued, would make it impossible to maintain a specific national welfare state with a high degree of emphasis on full employment and equality, but it also seems that ”despite undeniable problems posed by economic internationalisation, social democratic welfare states and employment regimes have proven to be highly resilient” [1] . Economic internationalisation can be both impact from Europeanisation and Globalisation. High levels of taxes and high wages do thus not necessarily make welfare regimes with high levels of public intervention uncompetitive with other welfare states, despite the reduction in effectiveness of the traditional Keynesian economic policies. One reason could be differences between the compositions of the export sectors in the different regimes; another could be a higher emphasis on human-capital formation and high labour-force participation in regimes with high levels of public intervention. This does not affect by itself the issue of how to steer and manage the economy in different welfare states. This is due to that the increased economic integration between economies and internationalisation has changed the traditional ability to maintain overall economic policy-making. Thereby has, at least for small countries, the option of using traditional economic steering mechanisms been reduced. The emphasis in this article is thus on whether, on the basis of ongoing Europeanisation and globalization and its possible impact on the continuation of a national welfare state, one might be able to identify any specific traits in the development of the Nordic welfare states. The article is divided in several subsections. Firstly, the article will discuss briefly the concepts of the welfare state. Secondly, the article will by way of comparative data try to depict whether certain characteristics are still at hand when looking at the Nordic welfare states. Finally, the article will discuss the tendency, towards convergence of social policies in a European perspective, as convergence could be a reason for the withering away of a specific Nordic welfare state.