# Are the Nordic countries really less innovative than the US?

**Published:** 2012-12-19  
**Categories:** Latest  
**URL:** https://www.etla.fi/en/latest/nordic-countries-innovative-us/

Do the ‘cuddly’ Nordic countries free ride on the ‘cut-throat’ incentives for innovation in US-style economies? Don’t PCs, the internet, Google, Windows, iPhones and the Big Mac speak for themselves? ETLA’s Mika Maliranta, Niku Määttänen and Vesa Vihriälä argue in a column published on VoxEU that, despite a higher overall tax burden and more generous safety nets, the Nordics have generated at least as much – if not more – innovation than the US. So far, ‘cut-throat’ capitalism has not been the only road to an innovative economy.

Read more on [VoxEU](http://www.voxeu.org/article/nordic-innovation-cuddly-capitalism-really-less-innovative).