In 1990, Lars Calmfors edited a book called Wage Formation and Macroeconomic Policy in the Nordic Countries. Even though it was published over 30 years ago, the issues it addressed are still crucial to the success of the “Nordic model.”
Unions continue to play an important role, and union agreements still cover most workers through various institutional arrangements. Coordination of wage negotiations across sectors is still useful in ensuring stability, international competitiveness, and high employment—key goals for the wage-setting system.
However, the Nordic model isn’t without its challenges. Union membership has declined, and employers are pushing for more decentralized wage-setting to better meet the diverse needs of different industries and firms. In particular, public sector wage-setting poses unique challenges in several Nordic countries.
Economic science has also changed. Cross-country regressions are no longer common in empirical studies, and labor market issues are now often examined using experimental or quasi-experimental methods. For a time, labor economics shifted away from its traditional focus, but recently, there’s been renewed interest in classic topics like unions, wage negotiations, inequality, and market structure.
These are some of the issues that will be presented and discussed during this peer-review conference of the upcoming Nordic Economic Policy Review.
We invite you to a full day with presentations of recent research by leading Nordic experts and comments by academics and policymakers (some of whom contributed to the original book in 1990). We offer coffee and a light lunch for all participants.
The first edition of the Nordic Economic Policy Review was launched in 2010 by the Nordic Ministers of Finance. The review strives to make the latest economic research accessible to decision makers as well as to a broader audience and to contribute to Nordic knowledge exchange on economic policy issues and challenges. The review is produced by the Nordic Council of Ministers and Nordregio.
