# Recession in Norway



## Petermack (23 Sep 2010)

Just read a very interesting article on http://www.insolvencyjournal.ie where they visit different countries in Europe to see how the recession is affecting them. This weeks country was Norway and 2 very interesting point of note were as follows




> But the good news is that Norway has been wise with its oil wealth, unlike the UK, and has invested it well since the first discovery of black gold some 40 years ago. It set up two sovereign wealth funds to hold the oil profits and these are now valued at some €500bn. This plump nest egg will see the 5m Norwegians through as many lost decades as the global economy’s greed and profligacy can throw at them.
> 
> And some of the most generous maternity benefits in the world make Norway’s demographics the envy of the ageing world, producing plenty of future workers, carers and tax payers and keeping that endearing sunny smile on the faces of so many of its population, despite its savage winters.


 
Very prudent of the government to keep the profits of oil tucked away, works out at €100k per head of population.

Does anyone know what these generous maternity benefits are. I cant seem to find any details on the internet.


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## vandriver (23 Sep 2010)

44 weeks @ full pay  or 54 weeks @ 80%


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## pixiebean22 (23 Sep 2010)

Yep, read about Norway months back.  One of the newspapers was saying something along the lines of "wouldn't it be great to have a government like that".  Such sensible planning.

As regards maternity benefits - well I've read that they get free medical treatment during pregnancy, includes all the bells and whistles, having a baby is 100% free there, _"If you work more than 6 months of the last 10 before you give birth, the maternity leave is as follows. You will receive 100% of your (last months) salary for 42 weeks - 38 weeks taken by the mother, and 4 weeks taken by the father, or 80% of you salary for 52 weeks - 48 weeks taken by the mother and 4 weeks taken by the father. If the father chooses to stay at work these 4 weeks, the money is "lost". A father is also entitled to get two weeks vacation from work when the baby is born, so that he can help the mother and baby. Some companies - more and more - choose to give the father ordinary salary during these two weeks, encouraging the father to spend time with his family"_, _"If you do not work before having a baby, you are still entitled to an amount of approximately 34.000 NOK (5600 USD). This money will be paid to you after you have passed 6 months of your pregnancy, if you wish - or when the baby is born.  __Every month until your child is 16 years of age, you will receive an amount of 800 NOK (140 USD) per child you are responsible for - this also includes children that are adopted. When the child is between 1 and 3 this amount is a bit higher - 1500 NOK (250 USD) per month.  T__he government in Norway has now (July 1998) decided to pay a so-called cash payment to all parents that stays at home with their child (only children between 1 and 2 of age) instead of working. A family that decides to have either the mother or the father staying at home with their young children, will receive 3000 NOK per child at home (500 USD) per month."_


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## Firefly (23 Sep 2010)

I presume we'll have a similiar fund from the Corrib gas field?


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## galleyslave (23 Sep 2010)

Firefly said:


> I presume we'll have a similiar fund from the Corrib gas field?



dats roight. Shure we will bucko...




... oh, hang on a minute...


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## ivuernis (23 Sep 2010)

> But the good news is that Norway has been wise with its oil wealth, unlike the UK, and has invested it well since the first discovery of black gold some 40 years ago.



Yes, but it has less than a tenth of the population than the UK meaning its return per head of population is far far greater. Luck has played as much a role in its fortunes as good management. Just look at Scotland, it must curse itself for being part of the UK.


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## Vanilla (23 Sep 2010)

Makes you want to move there, nearly.


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## Graham_07 (23 Sep 2010)

Vanilla said:


> Makes you want to move there, nearly.



With the price of a pint   , naaah.  ( look at the most popular city though ! )


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## micmclo (23 Sep 2010)

Ah Scotland, the only country that discovered huge oil fields and managed to become poorer


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## VOR (23 Sep 2010)

Whatever about putting money aside from the Corrib Oil field, I would love to see the Irish Government issuing a transparent list of all tax paid by individual citizens. In Norway it is posted online every October and available to the public for 3 weeks. It's called the "skatteliste" or tax list.
Norwegians have told me that this list of income and assets helps the courts also as they will then impose fines based on ability to pay.


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## z107 (23 Sep 2010)

> Makes you want to move there, nearly.


It just makes me want to live there.

Our children get to pay for Anglo.


I wouldn't rate Irish pints as anything special either. Overpriced, bland cat juice.


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## Firefly (23 Sep 2010)

VOR said:


> Whatever about putting money aside from the Corrib Oil field, I would love to see the Irish Government issuing a transparent list of all tax paid by individual citizens. In Norway it is posted online every October and available to the public for 3 weeks. It's called the "skatteliste" or tax list.
> Norwegians have told me that this list of income and assets helps the courts also as they will then impose fines based on ability to pay.


 
Not sure about that - might be very useful for a criminal for instance to have such a handy list.


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## Vanilla (23 Sep 2010)

umop3p!sdn said:


> It just makes me want to live there.
> 
> Our children get to pay for Anglo.
> 
> ...


 
Don't drink pints anyway. Don't drink beer at all. Yeuch. Could still go to France and buy wine.

Was watching Oprah ( I know, okay  ) and there was an episode about women in Denmark being the happiest in the world, high taxes but great schools, maternity leave, healthcare, education...The only thing was they all lived in shoe boxes- expensive, beautiful, modernist apts but shoe boxes all the same.


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## Firefly (23 Sep 2010)

Vanilla said:


> Makes you want to move there, nearly.


 
It would be a long commute though


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## ringledman (23 Sep 2010)

ivuernis said:


> Just look at Scotland, it must curse itself for being part of the UK.


 

England financially supports Scotland, Wales and NI.

Likewise perhaps Scotland can take the debt burden of RBS and HBOS when they decide to leave the UK?

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article11794.html


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## Caveat (24 Sep 2010)

I'm sorry but the Scottish are biggest whingers and BSers around.

They bang on about independence, how much they hate the English etc etc.

Leave the union then. 

Oh in the cold light of day you don't actually want to? well shut up then.


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## callybags (24 Sep 2010)

Grass is always greener....


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## DB74 (24 Sep 2010)

In fairness, our grass is getting very yellowish!


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## RMCF (24 Sep 2010)

For years we have been hearing how the Scandavanian countries are models of how we should all run our own countries.

Iceland used to be one of them.

Are they really as great as we are being told they are? Or are the facts being selected to prove a point? Have they not got very high tax levels that we wouldn't stand for here?


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## pixiebean22 (24 Sep 2010)

If I remember correctly their tax rate is 37%, I think this is the same for everyone.

Personally, I would be happy if everyone was on the same tax rate (and there were no exemptions) and I would've been happy to pay 37% tax for the entire time i've been contributing if it meant we wouldn't be in this mess now. Then again the cost of living in Norway is apparently very high so if you're paying 37% tax and everything is really expensive it doesn't leave you much better off.

On the plus side though they have very low unemployment levels.

(PS the tax rate I've quoted is from an old article so it may be incorrect)

This website [broken link removed] puts tax at 28% on ordinary income but then it has another category for *Maximum marginal tax rates* and ordinary income is at 28% but "pay" is 47.8%, not sure what the difference is.


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## shnaek (24 Sep 2010)

pixiebean22 said:


> Personally, I would be happy if everyone was on the same tax rate (and there were no exemptions)



Hear hear. And yes, people do bang on about Scandanavian countries, but they often leave out facts like decades of Eugenics in Sweeden - they have their downsides and their upsides. Scandanavian's aren't in general renowned for their sense of fun...


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## pixiebean22 (24 Sep 2010)

shnaek said:


> Hear hear. And yes, people do bang on about Scandanavian countries, but they often leave out facts like decades of Eugenics in Sweeden - they have their downsides and their upsides. Scandanavian's aren't in general renowned for their sense of fun...


 
Think that's probably because they can't afford to go out   Socialising (and I don't just mean consumption of alcohol) is apparently very expensive there.


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## SlurrySlump (24 Sep 2010)

Vanilla said:


> Makes you want to move there, nearly.


 
You can fly there with Ryanair for €9.99 this October although it is being advertised in their current sale as €5 per flight all in.

Would it be worthwhile flying over and opening a deposit account I wonder or is that illegal?


http://www.ryanair.com/ie/cheap-dublin-ireland-aberdeen-uk-flights

[broken link removed]


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## RMCF (25 Sep 2010)

Perhaps I am getting the country wrong, but I saw a travel programme a few years back which said that the reason one of these countries (think it might have been Norway) is so expensive is because the wages for all jobs is high.

It mentioned a fact that a highly trained doctor might take home €2000 per month, yet a waiter in a restaurant would also get approx €1200 clear. Said that no-one was badly paid.


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## emaol (25 Sep 2010)

"yet a waiter in a restaurant would also get approx €1200 clear"

That is around the same as a waiter on min wage working 37.5 hours per week would get here, and pay relatively no tax. Does our Scandanavia friend also pay little tax?


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## Complainer (26 Sep 2010)

The Nordic countries generally come out very well on a whole range of social measures, including physical health, obesity, mental health, imprisonment rates, drug abuse, teenage birth rates, trust rates etc.

See http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/why/evidence


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## RMCF (26 Sep 2010)

Complainer said:


> The Nordic countries generally come out very well on a whole range of social measures, including physical health, obesity, *mental health*, imprisonment rates, drug abuse, teenage birth rates, trust rates etc.
> 
> See http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/why/evidence



Do they not have some of the highest suicide rates?


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## Husker (26 Sep 2010)

RMCF said:


> Do they not have some of the highest suicide rates?


 
No.


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## Firefly (27 Sep 2010)

Husker said:


> No.


 
From my LC Geography (1993) I recall that suicides are high in the area of Nordkalotten which is a area of land in nothern Norway, Sweden and Denmark. One of the main reasons being the 2 months a year of darkness if I remember correctly. Not much on the web and a sparce article on wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cap_of_the_North


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## Caveat (27 Sep 2010)

TBH that was my recollection too (LC 1988).

Things may have changed I guess.


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