[sam h]

This is a very deceptive article on a number of fronts. In the last twenty years, the Nordic countries have not done appreciably worse than other European countries except for Ireland. But Ireland was starting from a low GDP base anyway and took advantage of many idiosyncratic advantages like a very educated workforce and a favorable mix of social actors. It is one interesting piece of evidence in the debate about how to best compete today. But it would be foolish and simplistic to latch onto Ireland's performance and proclaim it to be evidence for the superiority of a general model of political economy. If you want the counter-argument, after all, just look at how well the variations on the "Irish model" have performed in Latin America. And Ireland itself is now probably in for rougher times than it has experienced in the last decade.