Jacob Christensen

A couple of days ago, Politiken had a fascinating debate between its political op-ed writer Peter Mogensen and editor Stig Kirk Ørskov over the state of the Danish economy. Basically, Mogensen thinks the crisis is over and Ørskov that Danish manufacturing is toast. (As in: Don’t even bother applying for a job at Vestas. They will be moving out ASAP).

Somewhere I’ve also seen 2009 compared with 1932 which was one of the worst years ever in Danish economic history (even if unemployment rates weren’t as draconian as many believe). And if reporting in Fyens Stiftstidende is anything to go by, Funen with its dependence on manufacturing is in a particularly bad spot. Following the regional effects will be interesting.

Charlemagne of the Economist seems to have had his feet swept away from under him by the Wonder of the Swedish State. (Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2). The Punchline:

The place never fails to impress: Stockholm combines extraordinary efficiency and organisation with a healthily relaxed view of life, plus a strong tang of the sea. It is a bit like crossing Zürich with Sydney.

Swiss-Australians? Hmm…

I would like to point to one thing which Charlemagne (who would be known as Stora Kalle in Sweden) misses in my opinion. The thing is that much of Swedish policy looks like a top-down affair, but I wonder if Sweden would really work if there wasn’t also a significant bottom-up element to Swedish policy and politics, i.e. a strong mobilisation of public sentiment. This is what makes comparisons between the former German Democratic Republic and Sweden so interesting: The SED tried to create a sort of make-believe Sweden but failed utterly because they a) lacked any kind of legitimacy in the first place and b) relied on top-down planning.

The question about transferability of policies is interesting, but you may want to ask if policies implemented by, say, the British or the US government don’t also have similar limitations.

Update: It gets better – economics and transparent government.

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Apologies for the dearth of serious polsci posts, but it is hot up here. Even the polar bears…

Update: Replaced the twitpic with a Flickr upload. Looked better.