Democrats are doing their best to advance President Biden’s $2 trillion “Build Back Better” agenda. The bill is being heralded as an engine of economic mobility for American families and includes things like paid family leave and universal pre-K, which would be firsts for America.
In making the case for these programs, progressives often draw on the Danish welfare state for inspiration, with its low levels of income inequality and high levels of mobility in income across generations. They attribute these features to the many generous social policies Denmark has in place; Denmark for example offers tuition-free education from pre-K to PhD with substantial support. And Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a staunch supporter of Build Back Better, regularly points to Denmark as the model welfare state.
But Sanders and other progressive admirers of the Danish welfare state should note that despite generous policies, there is substantial inequality in child outcomes across social and economic classes in Denmark. Contrary to the views of progressives, despite the striking policy differences between Denmark and the U.S., these differences are not reflected in intergenerational educational mobility.
Continue reading at Newsweek.
James Heckman, PhD, is a senior fellow at the Archbridge Institute and a Nobel laureate in economics (2000). He has appointments in the Department of Economics, Harris School of Public Policy, and the Law School at The University of Chicago. He is also the founder and director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development.
Economics of Flourishing
Democrats are doing their best to advance President Biden’s $2 trillion “Build Back Better” agenda. The bill is being heralded as an engine of economic mobility for American families and includes things like paid family leave and universal pre-K, which would be firsts for America.
In making the case for these programs, progressives often draw on the Danish welfare state for inspiration, with its low levels of income inequality and high levels of mobility in income across generations. They attribute these features to the many generous social policies Denmark has in place; Denmark for example offers tuition-free education from pre-K to PhD with substantial support. And Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a staunch supporter of Build Back Better, regularly points to Denmark as the model welfare state.
But Sanders and other progressive admirers of the Danish welfare state should note that despite generous policies, there is substantial inequality in child outcomes across social and economic classes in Denmark. Contrary to the views of progressives, despite the striking policy differences between Denmark and the U.S., these differences are not reflected in intergenerational educational mobility.
Continue reading at Newsweek.
James Heckman
James Heckman, PhD, is a senior fellow at the Archbridge Institute and a Nobel laureate in economics (2000). He has appointments in the Department of Economics, Harris School of Public Policy, and the Law School at The University of Chicago. He is also the founder and director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development.
Share:
Related Posts
Shapiro’s licensing reforms deserve attention this election season
No License? No Problem
Free Professionals From Regulatory Tangle