Inga Michler on the myth of the Nordic model

"The Nordic model has something for everyone," writes financial journalist Inga Michler. "But this is precisely the problem. The approaches to problem solving in Denmark, Sweden and Finland are so diverse and the conditions in each country so different, that there's no way you can derive 'the ideal model' for Germany from them." Finland's education policy is a clear example: "For years now, this country, which educates its children at comprehensive schools until they're 16, has had the top ranking in the PISA student achievement study. But should this model be adopted in Germany? Only to a limited extent because Finland has hardly any immigrants." Whether you're talking about Denmark's "flexicurity" model, paternity leave in Finland or Swedish fiscal policy: "There are many good ideas in the North, but there's not a standard model that could be taken as a whole and implemented in Germany."

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