ABSTRACT
Norway belongs along with the other Scandinavian countries and Iceland and Finland to the ‘Nordic model’. The Nordic model is characterised by a big public sector, a high level of taxes and generous universal welfare services. The Nordic model is also characterised by a flexible economy with regards to market regulation and innovation, and extensive co-operation in industrial relations between trade organisations, unions and the government. There is high equality in wages and the inflation and level of unemployment is low. There has also been little corruption and the public sector institutions are transparent. Norway has, together with the other Nordic countries, received very high rankings in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) annual Human Development Index (HDI) during the later years. The HDI monitors average accomplishments in life expectancy, knowledge and education and standards of living measured as GDP per capita (European Policy Centre, 2005). The Nordic model is therefore an interesting case in many respects regarding democratic accountability and public policy (Heidar, 2004).
