Norway has for many years recorded an enviable macroeconomic performance. It regularly tops the international rankings for the Human Development Index (HDI) and it has one of the highest figures for GNI per capita (PPP) among developed nations.
It records huge current account surpluses in excess of 10% of GDP each year and strong growth and surging revenues from oil and gas production have given the Norwegian government a fiscal position that many other countries would die for! Unemployment is the lowest of any European country.
That said there are some signs that the economy is suffering from an over-dependence on oil and gas - it is at risk of the Dutch Disease?
The Dutch Disease is the idea that economic growth from exploiting and exporting natural resources can crowd out investment in other sectors, in part due to a strengthening exchange rate which causes a sharp rise in relative unit labour costs. High wages are also seen as a factor behind a trend decline in the average hours worked and a rise in the drop-out rate from high school education.
Manufacturing wages in Norway have climbed by more than 150 per cent since 1997 against just 50 per cent in the US and Germany They are now 60-70 per cent higher than the weighted average of Norway’s trading partners, meaning “that for every hour worked here we need to be 60 per cent more productive”. (FT, 7 Feb 2014)
This Financial Times video report looks at some of the issues facing Norway.
Past questions
and development in developing countries? (20)
*(b) Evaluate four ways in which economic growth and development might be
promoted in developing countries. (30)
*(b) Discuss debt cancellation and trade liberalisation as alternative means of promoting economic development in developing countries. (30)
Case study question - June 2013, Question 5.
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