Nordic Welfare, Baltics Austerity and COVID-19

Abstract

The Nordic countries and the Baltic States are in geographic proximity and are a well-integrated region, however, their economic and social policies are dramatically different. The Nordics are welfare states whereas the Baltics have followed neoliberal austerity policies after reclaiming independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. If one considers indicators of poverty, social exclusion, and income inequality it is perhaps not surprising that the Baltics do not perform as well the richer Nordics. However, the Baltics also perform poorly as compared to the Visegrád countries that have similar per capita GDP. If one considers healthcare expenditures as percentage and of GDP and health care expenditure in EUR per capita the Baltics are far behind the Nordics both because they spend a smaller amount on healthcare as a percent of GDP, but also because their GDP per capita is much lower. When it comes to COVID-19 cases and deaths the Baltics do not perform as well as the Nordics except for Sweden. However, the Baltics perform well compared to the Visegrád countries in spite of less generous welfare programs than in the Visegrád group.

Keywords

• economic and social policy
• welfare and healthcare expenditures
• nordic countries
• baltic states
• visegrád group