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Bringing together work from economists and political scientists, this volume offers empirical answers on how to achieve a good society, making it a highly relevant comparative study in political economy and welfare studies.

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Denmark and Switzerland are small and successful countries with exceptionally content populations. However, they have very different political institutions and economic models. They have followed the general tendency in the West toward economic convergence, but both countries have managed to stay on top. They both have a strong liberal tradition, but otherwise their economic strategies are a welfare state model for Denmark and a safe haven model for Switzerland. The Danish welfare state is tax-based, while the expenditures for social welfare are insurance-based in Switzerland. The political institutions are a multiparty unicameral system in Denmark, and a permanent coalition system with many referenda and strong local government in Switzerland. Both approaches have managed to ensure smoothly working political power-sharing and economic systems that allocate resources in a fairly efficient way. To date, they have also managed to adapt the economies to changes in the external environment with a combination of stability and flexibility.

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Preface.- 1 Introduction.- Part I: The Quality of Life in Two Different Good Societies: Denmark and Switzerland.- 2 Two Wealthy Economies and Their Development.- 3 Are the Standards of Living Similar or Dissimilar?- 4 Happiness in Denmark and Switzerland.- Part II: Two Models of Good Societies.- 5 Two Stylized Economic Models.- 6 Political Institutions and Politics.- 7 Civil Society.- 8 Two Variants of the Welfare State.- 9 Immigration.- Part III: Challenges for the Two Good Societies.- 10 The Future of the Danish Welfare State.- 11 The Future of the Swiss Welfare State.- 12 Conclusion.

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