Velferd og vinning

Overview & Synopsis

All discussion about privatization and welfare is about private and public actors, as if they were opposites. Professional analyses of competition or innovation always do the same: we look for differences between private and public. We are either disappointed or pleased that in Norway quality is largely the same, and the price you and I pay is always exactly the same when we need public welfare services—even if the providers are private. Could there be something wrong with the analysis? Welfare and Profit flips the debate and shows why it matters little who produces the service. Norwegian welfare services are run in such a way that it matters little whether the kindergarten your child attends, or the nursing home where your grandmother lives, is operated by a public or municipal entity. What you pay and what you get are largely the same. The explanation lies in regulation and politics. So why should we allow private companies with profits and dividends into the welfare state if price and quality are regulated anyway? The answer is that Norwegian welfare services can go in two directions: slow deterioration or continuous improvement. We avoid deterioration if politicians and leaders stimulate improvement. And resources in the private sector must be used to achieve this. It is not easy. The welfare state must always create good services and equal worth for all, regardless of personal resources and economic ability. Development through competition and innovation requires good regulation, good political steering, and good leadership. The book shifts focus from the question of whether we should have private producers to how society can stimulate innovation and development. The title “Welfare and Profit” has a double meaning. Is there a conflict between profit and welfare? Can we get welfare without profit? Or should welfare governance aim to achieve gains—for users, for providers, and for society? These are fundamental political dilemmas, but this book seeks to show a path where welfare and profit can work together. The book is intended for those who are skeptical of simple answers to complex questions. Hopefully it will reach students and professionals, leaders and politicians. The hope is that the reader sees that private companies can lift welfare services. They can contribute to continuous improvement. But to make that happen, what is needed above all is better governance and leadership.