Sammendrag
Market mechanisms are used in new ways to create progress in the welfare state in the Scandinavian countries. Surprisingly, this does not mean that the core welfare goals have been replaced. The Scandinavian countries still subscribe to many of the deep-rooted ideals, such as public funding and regulation of core welfare services, decentralization of governance, equal access for all to high quality services, and adaptation of services to the user’s needs and preferences. However, there is a willingness to innovate in order to better reach these goals and consequently large differences between the Scandinavian countries and between the service areas are evolving rapidly. In particular the voucher system and competition between public and private for-profit schools have attracted a lot of attention internationally. In effect, the Scandinavian countries have emerged as a laboratory of different welfare reform experiments. It is a testing ground for solving similar problems that other countries will encounter. The book draws conclusions based on systematic and integrated research conducted by local experts in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The researchers are therefore uniquely positioned to conduct comparative analysis between countries, primary schools and nursing homes, and between public, for-profit, and nonprofit providers. These new insights are relevant for other countries in the process of reforming how welfare services are provided while promoting active citizenship.
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