ABSTRACT
Previous research on attitudes to work has triggered the analysis in this chapter. As we will see below, several studies have shown that willingness to engage in employment is at least as strong as—or even stronger—in Scandinavia than in Anglo-Saxon countries. These results are highly interesting, in particular in relation to the debate on the welfare state. In this debate, which incessantly revolves around the effects of social benefits on people’s incentives to be available for the labour market, the Anglo-Saxon and the Scandinavian (or Nordic) families of nations represent very different models. There is no doubt that the Nordic welfare state arrangements are much more comprehensive and generous. Research indicating that generous systems do not harm individuals’ interest in taking on employment may thus have important political implications.
