The Politics of Social Investment in the Nordic Countries

This paper offers a regionally focused qualitative comparative study of the politics of social investment policies in Scandinavia. The Scandinavian welfare states clearly stand out when it comes to future oriented social investment policies and the associated social and economic performance (e.g. human capital formation, equality). We first offer an overview of the political conditions under which social investment emerged as a political and policy paradigm in Scandinavia. We then pose the central question: whether and to what extent is Scandinavia able to politically maintain this historical path and uphold its widely praised qualities and social investment?

Our argument is the following. The “common wisdom” on the Scandinavian welfare state is that universalism and social investment are two components of the same political-normative sequence that generates broad support for the welfare state. Moreover, the unusually firm and broad consensus around the welfare state should make welfare state renovation and adaptation a manageable political task. However, in the most recent period and in contrast to expectations, things have started to look slightly different. Some trends indicate a change of direction in the social investment approach and a move away from universalism. We look at shifting political and policy goals of core actors, changing political dynamics in social investment subfields and rising inequality as an increasingly salient political issue.