| Summary: | Abstract
Geography has played an important part in creating the Nordic
welfare states. This article discusses how the urban-rural dimension
has been dealt with in the context of developing economic welfare.
Four different policy interventions are presented: exogeneous shocks,
buy out, palliative treatment and endogenous growth through innovation.
Of these, the latter prevails in contemporary policy discussions.
The application of policy measures varies substantially between
the Nordic countries. We have different Nordic models rather than
a single model. While in the aftermath of World War II economic
development and welfare arguments combined to justify geographical
centralisation, the present climate concerns seem to align with
economic interests to form a new wave of centralisation, though
on different geographical scales. It remains to be seen whether
this tendency is politically sustainable or not. If it is, we face a
new geography of welfare along the rural-urban axis.
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