Living in Scandinavia (Norway), once thing that's become clear to me is that the welfare system really requires you to work to capture most of the benefits. You won't get normal disability pay, unemployment payments, and maternity/paternity leave if you haven't been working and paying into the system.
If you're income and asset poor, you'll get some minimal benefits, even housing. But these benefits are heavily means tested and much less generous than the regular system.
Scandinavian countries have some of the highest workforce participation rates in the world, so I think they've structured the incentives right. They need to, to make they generous systems possible. It would be interesting to see Finland take a different path.
If you're income and asset poor, you'll get some minimal benefits, even housing. But these benefits are heavily means tested and much less generous than the regular system.
Scandinavian countries have some of the highest workforce participation rates in the world, so I think they've structured the incentives right. They need to, to make they generous systems possible. It would be interesting to see Finland take a different path.