People in the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden work more than the countries’ high tax rates would lead us to predict. This observation is explained by a shared belief system that emphasises women’s rights to labour market participation.

Subsidies to commercial R&D can be given as R&D tax credits or through direct grants. Tax incentives have become an increasingly popular policy tool over the last decades. In this note I discuss the pros and cons of the two forms of subsidies in light of Norway’s experience with R&D policy. I...