Based on the UN's Human Development Index, Norway is the best place to live on earth. Norway ranked best on criteria representing a high quality of life. Lowest ranked was Niger, while the US is ranked 13 and the UK 21. I think this relates to the efficiency-equity trade off we have talked about. Norway, like its Scandinavian counterparts, practices a "welfare state" economic and governmental system. Norway's high ranking is attributed to a heavy emphasis on social welfare and equality, but this is funded through heavy taxes.
So, the question is, which side of the trade off would you rather be on?
2 comments:
This isn't very surprising after learning about the Scandinavian model considering the resources that Norway has. Although the taxes are high, how can you not want to live in the country that offers on average the highest quality of living? However, I do think that the data is almost irrelevant because of the lag this data has in being released. If we can find a way to release this kind of data in a more timely manner, than it would be easier to analyze what countries are doing to prosper in the current environment.
I agree with Brandon. Aside from the taxes, why wouldn't this appeal to someone? It would be interesting to see how drastic the rankings would be after updating the data. However, the criteria that determines "the best place to live" does not always appeal to some people making it the "best place". I would say the United States is one of the best places to live, but because we do not have a heavy emphasis on social welfare and equality, we are lower on the list.
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