An old adage states, "Necessity is the mother of invention".But what happens when there is no need to innovate?
What happens when all of ones needs are met through a country's natural resources?
Think of innovative products produced in Scandinavia;
Finland - Nokia Siemans Networks
Sweden - Volvo, Eriksson, AstraZeneca, Ikea (Okay, Ikea has since moved to it's headquarters to The Netherlands but it was founded in Sweden.)
Denmark - Maersk, Bang & Olufsten
Norway... well, er, umm...
Norway has huge reserves of oil and carefully manages the profits from it's sale.
While Norway shares a similar geography, history and ethnicity with it's Scandinavian neighbors - the country seems lacking in innovation.
Maybe these guys are just born with lower IQs.
Norway really bucks a big trend: They have huge oil reserves, but they were named the most peaceful country in the world in 2007. That's highly unusual for a big petroleum producer; those countries are usually racked by social instability and conflict.
ReplyDeleteLet's first acknowledge that all of these "innovative" countries have some form of nationalized health care and, relative to the US, an excessive level of social programs. If one proposed the social programs found in these countries in the US, they would be called straight communist.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure you can measure a country's level of innovation by the number of consumer brands one can identify with each country. There's some truth to your statement that Norway has not developed its consumer oriented technology sector and consumer facing brands to the level of some of its neighbors, but this does not necessary mean a country is not innovative in the industry sectors where it has more focus. I might argue that the country's huge natural resources have crowded out or lessened the development and innovation in some of its other sectors, but it's natural for a country to concentrate on and exploit those areas where it has competitive advantage. Conversely, the countries you label as "innovative" may not be as productive in those sectors that Norway is prominent. The issue may be one of economic diversity rather than one of who is innovative and who is not. None of this invalidates your core statement, but it challenges your implication that because Norway doesn't have and abundance of well known consumer brands recognizable in the US, and derives 30% of its national income from natural resources, that the country is comprised of a bunch of slackers.
I, personally, would change your closing paragraph as follows:
'While Norway shares a similar geography, history and ethnicity with it's Scandinavian neighbors, it also has an abundance of natural resources which it has successfully exploited to develop into a country with one of the highest standards of living in the world, one of the most educated countries in the world and one of the lowest unemployment levels in the world.'
Norway ranks among the top 3 in the world in GDP per capita, is number one in the world on the Human Development Index (a composite of a country's educational level, standard of living and life expectancy) and has an unemployment rate currently less than 4% (even with the financial crisis).
I think given Norway's educational levels and economic develop, they are well poised to be competitive in other sectors if and when they deplete their natural resources. At that point the country's talent and skills, largely consumed by exploiting natural resources, would be re-directed to other sectors, where, given their educational levels, they could potentially excel as well.
Actually, I was alludinding to many African countries who have many natural resources.
ReplyDeletePeople always say that the countries in Africa are dumb and poor because they failed to produce companies which dominate world markets.
There are huge differences between Norway and resource rich African countries. Norway is the most peaceful country; Norway has the second highest GDP in the entire world; Norway has one of the largest merchant fleets in the world; and the country has one of the highest standards of living in the world.
ReplyDeleteThere are virtually no other resource rich countries in the world that enjoy such a high standard of living and that remain democracies.
Yeah... I understand that.
ReplyDeleteBut the potential is there for Africa to do the same.
Perhaps it is having cold blood rather than warm blood that prevents the Norwegians from being war mongers. Too busy being rugged up and conserving energy for it to be expendable in war.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly I have met Swedes, Finns and Danes but Norwegians are rarely found abroad (or they are very quiet about their origins).
@ doll - So the Africans were sitting ducks because they "let" the Europeans take their resouces?
ReplyDeleteBut the potential is there for Africa to do the same.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
Then why are we the richest country in the world? lulz u fail
ReplyDeleteWe are the richest country in the world; however, we have a high amount of economic inequality. Hence, only a small percentage of the population enjoys such a rich lifestyle. Norway's economic inequality is much lower. The average Norwegian citizen enjoys a higher quality of living then does the average American citizen.
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