Common social policies
"As a politician I am taking the liberty of talking about the Nordic model, without defining it, assuming the concept to be so well known in everyday language that there would be no cause for a major misunderstanding". (A Nordic politician).

The welfare system is provided by the authorities for all citizens. It is mainly funded by tax revenues and is extremely costly.

Health insurance and pensions, which in most countries are sold to those who can afford them, are provided by the state at no cost to the beneficiaries. Life expectancy in the Nordic countries is very high; thus old-age pensioners form a large proportion of the population. This inevitably results in a need for comprehensive health care and public services for the elderly. Another reason why the welfare system is expensive is the large proportion of women on the labour market, which calls for an extensive child-care system.

Other services include free treatment for alcoholics, free or subsidized dental care for children and the elderly, paid maternity leave, the integration of handicapped persons in the education system, etc.

At the same time some of the Nordic countries are experimenting with a more market-oriented system in health care and social security, decentralizing the responsibility of the public sector. However, the main principle of a welfare system for everybody on equal terms remains unchanged.

For the population of the Nordic countries the term welfare means more than caring for the elderly, handicapped and sick; it involves human rights, including providing the unemployed and other disadvantaged groups with a means of living, and extends to issues like equal opportunities for both sexes, effective labour policies, environmental issues, etc. To people in the Nordic countries the term is not easily defined, as it describes a way of thinking more than specific tangible definitions of actions. The Nordic model includes, amongst other things, the welfare system as practised in the Nordic countries.