A lesson about the right recipe for growth.

Sweden’s economic performance stuttered once big government was imposed on the economy.

Everything good about Nordic nations was already in place before the era of big government.

Sweden became a rich country before the welfare state was adopted.

Not all comparisons are created equal.

They’re shifting back toward free markets.

Sweden’s welfare state facing an immigration challenge.

When I first started working on fiscal policy in the 1980s, I never thought I would consider Sweden any sort of role model. It was the quintessential cradle-to-grave welfare state, much loved on the left as an example for America to follow. But Sweden suffered a severe economic shock in the early 1990s and policy […]

In my travels through Europe, I often wind up debating whether policy is better in the United States or Europe. I generally try to explain that this is the wrong comparison, both because Europe is not a monolithic bloc and also because most individual nations have both good policies and bad policies. But sometimes you […]