ABSTRACT
In the early n in e teen th century the Scandinavian countries were am ong the poorest in E u ro p e ,1 and they were little affected by the fundam ental econom ic changes which were going on in the U nited Kingdom and con tinen tal E urope d u ring the first half o f the century. Today the Scandinavian countries are highly industrialized. From an econom ic standpo in t they are affluent societies, and they are considered by many to be the m ost advanced welfare states in the world.
