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The World’s Most Innovative Economies

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Re: The World’s Most Innovative Economies

#11

Post by kartan »

> Fresh ideas tend to pay off big in Sweden, even as the current government is less business-friendly and has imposed labor taxes that could crimp business investment

Maybe it is that high taxes and citizen friendly social system the responsible for the success of the country. I moved to Sweden to work in the tech sector because I like how socially advanced is the country.

Taxes are used to invest in society, and that's how you get a competitive environment. If you don't invest in your citizens how do you expect to grow? I really proud of paying taxes in Sweden and help society with my fair share of the cost. :)

Re: The World’s Most Innovative Economies

#12

Post by OskarS »

joelthelion wrote: post #7

> South Korea remained the big winner, topping the international charts in R&D intensity, value-added manufacturing and patent activity and with top-five rankings in high-tech density, higher education and researcher concentration None of these are really all that relevant to true innovation. As a European, it's clear to me that no country comes even close to the US in terms of innovation. Almost all really new techn…

While I agree with you on the flawed metrics, I think that on a per-capita basis some of the Nordics are on par (and maybe have even surpassed) the US when it comes to tech innovation.

Re: The World’s Most Innovative Economies

#13

Post by fauigerzigerk »

joelthelion wrote: post #7

> South Korea remained the big winner, topping the international charts in R&D intensity, value-added manufacturing and patent activity and with top-five rankings in high-tech density, higher education and researcher concentration None of these are really all that relevant to true innovation. As a European, it's clear to me that no country comes even close to the US in terms of innovation. Almost all really new techn…

I wonder if that picture is somewhat distorted by the overwhelming dominance of reporting on every little thing that a couple of large US tech conglomerates do.

That said, I tend to be skeptical of such rankings as well.

Re: The World’s Most Innovative Economies

#15

Post by OskarS »

>The Swedes themselves promote an atmosphere of great personal ambition — unlike some European neighbors that emphasize the collective — and that’s a boon to innovation, he said.

>“In the culture, people are super individualistic — this means that people have ideas and are very interested in pursuing them in this way in order to become wealthy,” said Henrekson.

This is very true, and a thing which is often misunderstood about the Swedish mindset. The sterotype of Swedes is frequently that we're a bunch of socialists who all believe that everyone should work for the collective good. That's totally wrong.

Sweden is perhaps one of the most individualistic countries in the world: we value the individual over the family or community, and we believe that everyone should have the same opportunities regardless of the circumstances of their birth. This is the reason we have the social safety net we have: it is a substitute for family and community and other more traditional support systems.

Re: The World’s Most Innovative Economies

#16

Post by aaron-lebo »

OskarS wrote: post #15

>The Swedes themselves promote an atmosphere of great personal ambition — unlike some European neighbors that emphasize the collective — and that’s a boon to innovation, he said. >“In the culture, people are super individualistic — this means that people have ideas and are very interested in pursuing them in this way in order to become wealthy,” said Henrekson. This is very true, and a thing which is often misunderst…

Yes!

If the government can provide effective healthcare that should at least in theory be a great boon to social mobility and entrepreneurship as that means people can much more easily move to a new job. Tying healthcare to employers is antithetical to that.

I suspect the real issue doing that in the US is simply because it's so varied. You've got several individual demographics within America that are bigger than Sweden's entire population - all with different cultures and even histories. Having a more homogeneous culture is advantageous in that respect. Maybe it's not surprising that SK has seen similar results.

Re: The World’s Most Innovative Economies

#17

Post by [deleted] »

kartan wrote: post #11

> Fresh ideas tend to pay off big in Sweden, even as the current government is less business-friendly and has imposed labor taxes that could crimp business investment Maybe it is that high taxes and citizen friendly social system the responsible for the success of the country. I moved to Sweden to work in the tech sector because I like how socially advanced is the country. Taxes are used to invest in society, and tha…

[deleted]

Re: The World’s Most Innovative Economies

#18

Post by aaron-lebo »

kartan wrote: post #11

> Fresh ideas tend to pay off big in Sweden, even as the current government is less business-friendly and has imposed labor taxes that could crimp business investment Maybe it is that high taxes and citizen friendly social system the responsible for the success of the country. I moved to Sweden to work in the tech sector because I like how socially advanced is the country. Taxes are used to invest in society, and tha…

I think it's very much a cultural thing.

Much of the social system in the US is informal. For example in the American South, things like the Salvation Army are huge and lots of small churches have homeless programs, food drives, and facilities that push for employment skills. Of course that ties a lot of dogma into social help, but it's there.

Sweden, having a much smaller government with fewer conflicting factions is able to have more efficient government. The average American who supports these other social systems doesn't trust that the government can do an effective job of providing them (and maybe for good reason).

I very much agree with you, but that informal/formal distinction is important.

Re: The World’s Most Innovative Economies

#19

Post by geon »

aaron-lebo wrote: post #18
kartan wrote: post #11

> Fresh ideas tend to pay off big in Sweden, even as the current government is less business-friendly and has imposed labor taxes that could crimp business investment Maybe it is that high taxes and citizen friendly social system the responsible for the success of the country. I moved to Sweden to work in the tech sector because I like how socially advanced is the country. Taxes are used to invest in society, and tha…

I think it's very much a cultural thing. Much of the social system in the US is informal. For example in the American South, things like the Salvation Army are huge and lots of small churches have homeless programs, food drives, and facilities that push for employment skills. Of course that ties a lot of dogma into social help, but it's there. Sweden, having a much smaller government with fewer conflicting factions i…

> Sweden, having a much smaller government with fewer conflicting factions

Lol. In contrast to the US, Sweden has a somewhat functioning democracy with more than 2 mainstream parties.

Re: The World’s Most Innovative Economies

#20

Post by OskarS »

aaron-lebo wrote: post #16
OskarS wrote: post #15

>The Swedes themselves promote an atmosphere of great personal ambition — unlike some European neighbors that emphasize the collective — and that’s a boon to innovation, he said. >“In the culture, people are super individualistic — this means that people have ideas and are very interested in pursuing them in this way in order to become wealthy,” said Henrekson. This is very true, and a thing which is often misunderst…

Yes! If the government can provide effective healthcare that should at least in theory be a great boon to social mobility and entrepreneurship as that means people can much more easily move to a new job. Tying healthcare to employers is antithetical to that. I suspect the real issue doing that in the US is simply because it's so varied. You've got several individual demographics within America that are bigger than Sw…

Today, Sweden is much more diverse that most people from other countries imagine (the percentage of the population that is born in foreign countries is higher in Sweden than the US, for instance). A walk down any street in Stockholm would disabuse you of the notion that there is no diversity here.

However, it is fair to say that when the system was "designed", (largely in the early and mid 20th century), Sweden was much more ethnically homogeneous than it is today. There might be something to the notion that people are much more willing to accept a generous welfare state if they know the beneficiaries are from the same ethnic group. It's shameful, but that's humanity for you.

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