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>the US experiences significantly higher GDP per capita This is to be expected, if Americans are working longer hours than their European counterparts. If you

>the US experiences significantly higher GDP per capita This is to be expected, if Americans are working longer hours than their European counterparts. If you do a little back-of-the-envelope normalization (GDP/capita/average hours worked), the results are much closer. Norway, of course, absolutely dominates by this metric. US: 28.9 France: 24.3 Germany: 26.4 Sweden: 25.4 Norway: 38.0

cbr 12y ago
> Norway, of course, absolutely dominates by this metric. This is North Sea oil, right? Hard to generalize from.
- hnnewguy 12y ago
  >This is North Sea oil, right? Hard to generalize from. Wasn't really generalizing, just stating fact. Norway has far fewer proven oil reserves than Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Algeria, Ecuador, Nigeria and on and on... Oil is not a panacea. The combination of a progressive culture and resource endowment tends to win. But don't assume that the latter is most important.
  - chimeracoder 12y ago
    > The combination of a progressive culture and resource endowment Don't forget having a relatively culturally and ethnically homogenous population (when compared to countries like the US), something that is often forgotten when holding up Scandinavian countries (esp. Norway) as a model.
    - selectodude 12y ago
      And the fact that there are fewer people in Norway than there are in New York City.
      - Dewie 12y ago
        I think that's kind of why 'per capita' is used.
- Dewie 12y ago
  USA is the country with a domestic market of 300+ million people, largely English-speaking, and has not seen a war on its soil in modern times, right? Hard to compare to anything else, then. It's funny how people immediately just say because oil whenever it is brought up, and think that it magically explains everything. Yes, a ridiculous proportion of export is from that industry. But it's not like finding oil immediately makes people prosperous - you have to manage it. Do you want long-term prosperity? Or do you want boom towns with high local inflation, high crime etc.? Going into how the Norwegian petroleum industry works would reveal a strategy that is very different from how countries like the US (or Canada in the prairie provinces) would have handled the same discovery. And it works.
  - adventured 12y ago
    Finding oil did make Norway prosperous. Have you ever looked at their economic condition prior to 1980?
    - Dewie 12y ago
      Yes, it did. And how it is and has been managed is a large part of well it has worked for the country, which is a lot more involved and interesting than "Oil was found in the North Sea in the late 60's and everyone lived happily ever after, the end". But since you seem to be an expert, how about you enlighten me on this subject.
      - adventured 12y ago
        I am in fact an expert. I have a background in finance and economics and could speak for hours on this subject. You seem to want to pick a fight, based on something I didn't even actually say or imply (which you carried over from another comment). That doesn't seem like very friendly behavior for HN. I never said a single thing implying Norway's financial well being was guaranteed or automatic or required no effort. I said Norway is prosperous due to oil. That is true, and their prosperity began with the oil boom, and that is not a coincidence. A five second comparison between how Venezuela has managed their resources and how Norway has, would tell you everything you need to know about the care Norway has taken to manage their good fortune, but that doesn't change in any way the fact that their good fortune is derived from the oil boom that saw their output peak at a massive 3.4 million bpd (particularly massive compared to their tiny population).
saosebastiao 12y ago
Norway has always been a bit of an outlier. It is what you get when you combine Middle Eastern oil resources with a Western European rule of law.
- bryanlarsen 12y ago
  Don't forget the self-control necessary to avoid the Dutch disease. [1] 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_disease http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_disease

cbr 12y ago

> Norway, of course, absolutely dominates by this metric. This is North Sea oil, right? Hard to generalize from.

hnnewguy 12y ago
>This is North Sea oil, right? Hard to generalize from. Wasn't really generalizing, just stating fact. Norway has far fewer proven oil reserves than Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Algeria, Ecuador, Nigeria and on and on... Oil is not a panacea. The combination of a progressive culture and resource endowment tends to win. But don't assume that the latter is most important.
- chimeracoder 12y ago
  > The combination of a progressive culture and resource endowment Don't forget having a relatively culturally and ethnically homogenous population (when compared to countries like the US), something that is often forgotten when holding up Scandinavian countries (esp. Norway) as a model.
  - selectodude 12y ago
    And the fact that there are fewer people in Norway than there are in New York City.
    - Dewie 12y ago
      I think that's kind of why 'per capita' is used.
Dewie 12y ago
USA is the country with a domestic market of 300+ million people, largely English-speaking, and has not seen a war on its soil in modern times, right? Hard to compare to anything else, then. It's funny how people immediately just say because oil whenever it is brought up, and think that it magically explains everything. Yes, a ridiculous proportion of export is from that industry. But it's not like finding oil immediately makes people prosperous - you have to manage it. Do you want long-term prosperity? Or do you want boom towns with high local inflation, high crime etc.? Going into how the Norwegian petroleum industry works would reveal a strategy that is very different from how countries like the US (or Canada in the prairie provinces) would have handled the same discovery. And it works.
- adventured 12y ago
  Finding oil did make Norway prosperous. Have you ever looked at their economic condition prior to 1980?
  - Dewie 12y ago
    Yes, it did. And how it is and has been managed is a large part of well it has worked for the country, which is a lot more involved and interesting than "Oil was found in the North Sea in the late 60's and everyone lived happily ever after, the end". But since you seem to be an expert, how about you enlighten me on this subject.
    - adventured 12y ago
      I am in fact an expert. I have a background in finance and economics and could speak for hours on this subject. You seem to want to pick a fight, based on something I didn't even actually say or imply (which you carried over from another comment). That doesn't seem like very friendly behavior for HN. I never said a single thing implying Norway's financial well being was guaranteed or automatic or required no effort. I said Norway is prosperous due to oil. That is true, and their prosperity began with the oil boom, and that is not a coincidence. A five second comparison between how Venezuela has managed their resources and how Norway has, would tell you everything you need to know about the care Norway has taken to manage their good fortune, but that doesn't change in any way the fact that their good fortune is derived from the oil boom that saw their output peak at a massive 3.4 million bpd (particularly massive compared to their tiny population).

saosebastiao 12y ago

Norway has always been a bit of an outlier. It is what you get when you combine Middle Eastern oil resources with a Western European rule of law.

bryanlarsen 12y ago
Don't forget the self-control necessary to avoid the Dutch disease. [1] 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_disease http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_disease