Globally Competitive Socialist Welfare States

World Economic Forum released the Global Competitiveness Report [download pdf summary] last week.

The report which rankscovers 120+ countries ranked the following as the top 10 globally competitive countries:

1. Finland
   
2. USA
   
3. Sweden
   
4. Taiwan
   
5. Denmark
   
6. Norway
   
7. Singapore
   
8. Switzerland
   
9. Japan
   
10. Iceland
    

What is interesting about this ranking is that 5 of these countries (Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland) are the Scandinavian/Nordic countries, and can be broadly described as Socialist Welfare States. These countries have been in this league since last 3-4 years, and also feature in the top slot on HDI - Human Development Index).

Of course, in the recent times, the "Socialist Welfare" Economic Model has become somewhat unfashionable in the metropolitan conversations of business-leaders/ strategy-makers (except as a target for bashing). But in its basic meaning, Socialism - i.e., people's control over the means of production - is worth a thought and consideration. And these FAQs on the Scandenavian Model[1] describe why and how this economic model works.
[1]: http://www.lysator.liu.se/nordic/scn/faq28.html#top