Multiple welfare states : histories of a keyword / Nils Edling -- The languages of welfare in Sweden / Nils Edling -- The concept "welfare state" in Danish public and political debates / Jorn Henrik Petersen and Klaus Petersen -- The winding road of the Norwegian "welfare state" / Per Haave --...

This paper compares the boom-bust cycle in Finland and Sweden 1984-1995 with the average boom-bust pattern in industrialized countries as calculated from an international sample for the period 1970-2002. Two clear conclusions emerge. First, the Finnish-Swedish experience is much more volatile...