Constantly changing Nordic welfare states: A Bermuda triangle?

Abstract

This introduction discusses recent developments in the Nordic welfare states as well as an overview of the contributions to this regional issue on Nordic welfare states. The issue focuses on topics of demography, financing, solidarity, and migration. The overview points to a potential conflict between resource availability, user expectations, and norms of professionalism. Navigating this ‘Bermuda triangle’ will likely require constant negotiation over the developing path of the Nordic welfare states. Specific challenges include how to maintain the historical tradition of high equality of income, economic opportunity, and access to services for men and women, native and foreign‐born. Welfare states will be constantly recalibrating, to accommodate residents' demands for what they are willing to accept in terms of benefits and what they are willing to pay in terms of social contributions.

Editors’ introduction: 10 years of the Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy (2013–2022) – taking stock and charting a route forward

“…Besides, more nuance is required to understand differences within commonly understood families of nations, welfare geographies or, indeed, welfare regimes. For example, as much as European and even Scandinavian welfare states are not all the same (Greve, 2022; Kvist, 2013), East Asian welfare systems have also been shown to diverge in their welfare institutionalisation, and the speed in which established welfare settlements have been transformed during the last decades (Hong, 2022; Yang & Kühner, 2020).…”

Motives underlying the intentions of youth to get involved in bribery: evidence from Lithuania

“…Most of the essential public services in welfare states, such as social care and medical services, are provided free at the point of delivery, on a free market contractual basis and are of a very high quality (Greve, 2022;Lind en and Ervik, 2022). Some studies find differences between public and private services (Molinos-Senante and Maziotis, 2020) and others find in favour of the latter (Castelblanco et al, 2020).…”