The Welfare State Myth. Dieser Artikel ist nicht verfügbar.The Welfare State Myth

You pay higher taxes and in return the state takes care of you from cradle to grave. This was the promise that brought welfare states into existence across the world in the 20th century. But do high-tax welfare states really offer good value for money? In this groundbreaking new book Stefan Fölster and Dr Nima Sanandaji present a powerful and controversial argument: that ever more tax and spend might not actually lead to higher social welfare. Based on thorough research and data from dozens of countries this book demonstrates that in everything from education to life expectancy, from hospital beds to unemployment it is low-tax countries like Switzerland and Japan that now offer their citizens the world’s best welfare. Meanwhile, high-tax countries – including the authors’ native Sweden – have steadily slipped down international league tables. This book takes a measured and evidence-based approach, rooted in real world data rather than well-meaning theories or utopian visions. Sanandaji and Fölster find that all too often high-tax countries treat the symptoms of poverty without addressing the underlying causes, leaving problems to fester and inefficiencies to multiply. This is an essential read for anyone who wants to understand the role and limits of the state in the 21st century.

Stefan Fölster has been the Chief Economist for the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, affiliate Professor in Economics at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and director of the Reform Institute, a think tank based in Stockholm with a focus on innovative reforms. He has authored many academic articles and books, including Renaissance for Reforms (co-authored with Nima Sanandaji), published in 2015 by the Institute of Economic Affairs in London. He is also very active in the wider economic discourse with columns and newspaper articles. Two of his other books, co-authored with Dag Detter, are The Public Wealth of Nations (Palgrave Macmillan), which was listed among the best books of 2015 in The Economist and the Financial Times, and The Public Wealth of Cities, published in 2017 by the Brookings Institution.


Dr Nima Sanandaji is an Iranian–Swedish author of Kurdish descent. He has a background in the natural sciences, carrying out research in biotechnology, structural biochemistry and physical chemistry at the University of Cambridge and the Chalmers University of Technology. He holds two technology PhDs from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm in the field of confined space crystallisation, with some of the research carried out at the University of California Santa Barbara. Dr Sanandaji has published 32 books on the history and evolution of capitalism, healthcare, innovation, entrepreneurship, women’s career opportunities, and the future of the ­Nordic welfare states. He is the president of the think tank ECEPR (European Centre for Entrepreneurship and ­Policy Reform).