Introduction

Welfare states have always been under constant pressure to reform, especially since the 1970s when the “golden age of capitalism” ended, which includes the Nordic countries that have maintained both high-performing economies and well-developed welfare states. This pressure has been particularly pronounced during the economic stagnation following the Great Financial Crisis. The pressure to reform may have been even stronger in the Nordic countries than in other countries because they have maintained high levels of social outcomes and social spending despite deepening economic stagnation and the resulting fiscal constraints. Finland, in particular, has maintained higher social outcomes than, say, Sweden, despite facing deeper economic stagnation and more severe fiscal constraints. Consequently, the need for creative adaptation to pressures for reform is likely to be greatest in Finland. This book examines critical cases of such creative evolution, with Finland as the primary example, to shed new light on the current potential of Nordic welfare states and their evolutionary learning capability. This dynamic capability allows them to develop new services to meet emerging needs, deliver existing services without compromising quality or increasing costs, and reinterpret existing services. This introductory chapter outlines the evolutionary perspective and evolutionary learning capability that underpin this book and introduces the contents of the following chapters.