CASE 425 - The Brookings Institution

The Brookings Institution funded by many corporations is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington D.C or government think tank, closely linked to the roccafella family. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and global economy and development. Its stated mission is to "provide innovative and practical recommendations that advance three broad goals: strengthen American democracy; foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans; and secure a more open, safe, prosperous, and cooperative international system". Brookings states that its scholars "represent diverse points of view," but as an institution it does not take positions and describes itself as non-partisan. Its scholars are responsible for their own research and views are considered their own

Brookings was founded in 1916 as the Institute for Government Research (IGR), with the mission of becoming "the first private organization devoted to analyzing public policy issues at the national level".

The Institution's founder, philanthropist Robert S. Brookings (1850–1932), originally financed the formation of three organizations: the Institute for Government Research, the Institute of Economics, and the Robert Brookings Graduate School affiliated with Washington University in St. Louis. The three were merged into the Brookings Institution on December 8, 1927.

During the Great Depression economists at Brookings embarked on a large scale study commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to understand the underlying causes of the depression. Brookings's first president Harold Moulton and other Brookings scholars later led an effort to oppose President Roosevelt's New Deal policies because they thought such measures were impeding economic recovery. With the entry into World War II in 1941, Brookings researchers turned their attention to aiding the administration with a series of studies on mobilization. In 1948, Brookings was asked to submit a plan for the administration of the European Recovery Program. The resulting organization scheme assured that the Marshall Plan was run carefully and on a businesslike basis. In 1952, Robert Calkins succeeded Moulton as president of the Brookings Institution. He secured grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation that put the Institution on a strong financial basis. He reorganized the Institution around the Economic Studies, Government Studies, and Foreign Policy Programs. In 1957, the Institution moved from Jackson Avenue to a new research center near Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. Kermit Gordon assumed the presidency of Brookings in 1967. He began a series of studies of program choices for the federal budget in 1969 entitled "Setting National Priorities". He also expanded the Foreign Policy Studies Program to include research in national security and defense. After the election of Richard Nixon to the presidency in 1968, the relationship between the Brookings Institution and the White House deteriorated; at one point Nixon's aide Charles Colson proposed a firebombing of the Institution. Yet throughout the 1970s, Brookings was offered more federal research contracts than it could handle.

Funders

At the end of 2004 the Brookings Institution had assets of $258 million and spent $39.7 million, while its budget has grown to more than $80 million in 2009. Its largest contributors include the Ford Foundation, the Gates Foundation, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and her husband Richard C. Blum, Bank of America, ExxonMobil, Pew Charitable Trusts, the MacArthur Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, and the governments of the United States, Japan, Qatar, the Republic of China, the District of Columbia, and the United Kingdom.

21st Century Defense Initiative

The 21st Century Defense Initiative (21CDI) is aimed at producing research, analysis, and outreach that address three core issues: the future of war, the future of U.S. defense needs and priorities, and the future of the U.S. defense system. The Initiative draws on the knowledge from regional centers, including the Center on the United States and Europe, the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, the Thornton China Center, and the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, allowing the integration of regional knowledge. P. W. Singer, author of Wired for War, serves as the Director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative, and Michael E. O'Hanlon, serves as the Director of Research. Senior Fellow Stephen P. Cohen and Vanda Felbab-Brown are also affiliated with 21CDI.

http://landdestroyer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/brookings-institutions-which-path-to.html

US corporate-funded Brookings 2009 report conspires against the nation of Iran. Plot includes using terrorists, provoked war, economic warfare, and covert military and political subversion against the Iranian people.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/108902116/Brookings-Institution-s-Which-Path-to-Persia-Report

CASE 424 - The history of Singapore

Recent studies have verified that lions have never lived on Singapore but legend has it that a 14th century Sumatran prince spotted an auspicious beast (probably a Malayan tiger) upon landing on the island after a thunderstorm. Thus, the name Singapore comes from the Malay words “Singa” for lion and “Pura” for city. Prior to European settlement, the island now known as Singapore was the site of a Malay fishing village and inhabited by several hundred indigenous Orang Laut people In late 1818, Lord Hastings – the British Governor General of India – appointed Lieutenant General Sir Stamford Raffles to establish a trading station at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula. The British were extending their dominion over India and their trade with China was expanding. They saw the need for a port of call to “refit, revitalize and protect their merchant fleet” as well as to prevent any advances made by the Dutch in the East Indies.

After surveying other nearby islands in 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles and the rest of the British East India Company landed on Singapore, which was to become their strategic trading post along the spice route. Eventually Singapore became one of the most important commercial and military centers of the British Empire. The island was the third British acquisition in the Malay Peninsula after Penang (1786) and Malacca (1795). These three British Settlements (Singapore, Penang and Malacca) became the Straights Settlements in 1826, under the control of British India. By 1832, Singapore became the center of government of the three areas. On 1 April 1867, the Straights Settlements became a Crown Colony and was ruled by a governor under the jurisdiction of the Colonial Office in London.

During World War II, Singapore was occupied by the Japanese. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill described this “as the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history”. In the aftermath of the war, the country faced staggering problems of high unemployment, slow economic growth, inadequate housing, decaying infrastructure, labor strikes and social unrest. Nevertheless, it sparked a political awakening among the local population and saw the rise of anti-colonial and nationalist sentiments, as epitomized by the slogan “Merdeka” which means “independence” in the Malay language. In 1959, Singapore became a self-governing state within the British Empire with Yusof Bin Ishak as its first Yang de-Pertuan Negara (Malay for “Someone who is the eminent Master of the State”) and Lee Kuan Yew as its first and long-standing Prime Minister (he served until 1990). Before joining the Federation of Malaysia along with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, Singapore declared independence from Britain unilaterally in August 1963. Two years later, Singapore left the federation after heated ideological conflicts arose between the Singapore government’s major political party called the People’s Action Party (PAP) and the federal Kuala Lumpur goverment. On 9 August 1965, Singapore officially gained sovereignty. Yusof Bin Ishak sworn in as its first president and Lee Kuan Yew remained prime minister. With independence came bleak, if not precarious economic prospects. According to Barbara Leitch Lepoer, the editor of Singapore: A Country Study (1989): “Separation from Malaysia meant the loss of Singapore’s economic hinterland, and Indonesia’s policy of military confrontation directed at Singapore and Malaysia had dried up the entrepot from that direction.” According to the same book, Singapore also faced the loss of 20 percent of its jobs with the announcement of Britain’s departure from the island’s bases in 1968.

Instead of demoralizing Singapore, these problems motivated Singapore’s leadership to focus on the nation’s economy. With Cambridge-educated lawyer Lee Kuan Yew at its helm, the Singaporean government was aggressive in promoting export-oriented, labor-extensive industrialization through a program of incentives to attract foreign investment. After all, Singapore still had its strategic location to its advantage. By 1972, one-quarter of Singapore’s manufacturing firms were either foreign-owned or joint-venture companies, and both USA and Japan were major investors. As a result of Singapore’s steady political climate, favorable investment conditions and the rapid expansion of the world economy from 1965 to 1973, the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced annual double-digit growth. With the economic boom of the late 1960s and 1970s, new jobs were created in the private sector. The government provision of subsidized housing, education, health services and public transportation generated new jobs in the public sector. The Central Provident Fund, the country’s comprehensive social security scheme sustained by compulsory contributions by employer and employee, provided the necessary capital for government projects and financial security for the country’s workers in their old age. By the late 1970s, the government changed its strategic focus to skill and technology-intensive, high value-added industries and away from labor-intensive manufacturing. In particular, information technology was given priority for expansion and Singapore became the world’s largest producer of disk drives and disk drive parts in 1989. In the same year, 30 percent of the country’s GDP was due to earnings from manufacturing.

Singapore’s international and financial services sector was and still is one of the fastest growing sectors of its economy accounting for nearly 25 percent of the country’s GDP in the late 1980s. In the same year, Singapore ranked with Hong Kong as the two most important Asian financial centers after Tokyo. By 1990, Singapore played host to more than 650 multinational companies and several thousand financial institutions and trading firms. On the political front, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee Kuan Yew and in 2004 Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became Singapore’s third prime minister.

SINGAPOREAN IDENTITY

Out of 4.839 million Singaporeans, 3.164 million are Singapore citizens and roughly 0.478 million are Singapore permanent residents. Chinese, Malays and Indians comprise the three official ethnic groups in the country. With such a multi-ethnic population, the country’s leadership envisioned a Singaporean identity that calls for “rugged individualism with an emphasis on excellence”.

When the British failed to protect Singapore from Japanese occupation during World War II, they lost their credibility with the Singaporeans. The aftermath sparked an outpouring of anti-colonial and nationalist sentiments. After the Merger with Malaysia and the subsequent separation, the former colonial port of Singapore become a leader in global financing and trading in the 1970s. Today, it continues to wittingly maneuver its way in the world of international trade, just as it had done in the 19th century, and a large part of that success is owed to its government’s pro-industrialization policies and excellence-oriented multi-ethnic people.

CASE 423 - Austerity

In economics, austerity refers to a policy of deficit-cutting by lowering spending via a reduction in the amount of benefits and public services provided by the democratic societies and governments in most of the worlds countries. Austerity policies are often used by governments to try to reduce their deficit spending and are sometimes coupled with increases in taxes to demonstrate long-term fiscal solvency to creditors.

Supporters of austerity predict that under expansionary fiscal contraction (EFC), a major reduction in government spending can change future expectations about taxes and government spending, encouraging private consumption and resulting in overall economic expansion.

Greece Protest Violence Flares In Athens Amid Mass Strike against austerity

Critics argue that, in periods of recession and high unemployment, austerity policies are counter-productive, because: a) reduced government spending can increase unemployment, which increases safety net spending while reducing tax revenue; b) reduced government spending reduces GDP, which means the debt to GDP ratio examined by creditors and rating agencies does not improve; and c) short-term government spending financed by deficits supports economic growth when consumers and businesses are unwilling or unable to do so.

A typical goal of austerity is to reduce the annual budget deficit without sacrificing growth, but takes money off the people and their services and food out of there mouths to make sure the minimum payments are made to the banks that the governments owe. Over time, this may reduce the overall debt burden, often measured as the ratio of public debt to GDP. During the European sovereign-debt crisis, many countries embarked on austerity programs, reducing their budget deficits relative to GDP from 2010 to 2011. For example, according to the CIA World Factbook Greece improved its budget deficit from 10.4% GDP in 2010 to 9.6% in 2011. Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, France and Spain also improved their budget deficits from 2010 to 2011 relative to GDP.

However, with the exception of Germany, each of these countries had public debt to GDP ratios that increased (worsened) from 2010 to 2011, as indicated in the chart at right. Greece's public debt to GDP ratio increased from 143% in 2010 to 165% in 2011. This indicates that despite improving budget deficits, GDP growth was not sufficient to support a decline (improvement) in the debt to GDP ratio for these countries during this period. Eurostat reported that the debt to GDP ratio for the 17 Euro area countries together was 70.1% in 2008, 79.9% in 2009, 85.3% in 2010, and 87.2% in 2011. Unemployment is another variable that might be considered in evaluating austerity measures. According to the CIA World Factbook, from 2010 to 2011, the unemployment rates in Spain, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and the UK increased. France and Italy had no significant changes, while in Germany and Iceland the unemployment rate declined.

Discretionary spending, mandatory spending, and revenue increases over nine-year intervals Another historical example of austerity was in the United States, which balanced its budget from 1998 to 2001. The basic strategy was to limit the rate of growth in defense and non-defense discretionary spending (which funds the major cabinet departments and agencies) during most of the 1990's, while growing revenues along with the economy. Comparing 1990 vs. 1999, defense and non-defense discretionary spending grew by a total of 14%, while revenues grew 77%. Public debt to GDP declined from 42.1% in 1990 to 39.4% by 1999, although it rose during the interim slightly. In contrast, from 2000–2009, discretionary spending grew by a total of 101% while revenues grew only 4%. Public debt to GDP increased from 34.7% in 2000 to 53.5% in 2009. Revenue grew nearly 25% when comparing 2000 to the pre-crisis peak in 2007, still considerably less than the prior decade

Examples of Austerity

Argentina, 1952,2012

Cuba, 1991

Czech Republic, 2010

Germany, 2011

Greece, 2010–2012

Ireland, 2010-2012

Israel, 1949–1959

Italy, 2010-2012

Japan, 2010-2012

Latvia, 2009

Mexico, 1985

Netherlands, 1982–1990, 2003–2006, 2011

Canada, 1994

Nicaragua, 1997

Palestinian Authority, 2006

Romania, 2010

Portugal, 2010–2011

Puerto Rico, 2009–2013

Spain, 1979,[49] 2010, 2012

United Kingdom, during and after the two World Wars, 2011–2014

United States, 1921, 1946

Naples, Italy 2012

The Science and Ethics of Austerity: Lessons from the US and Europe http://contemporarycondition.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/science-and-ethics-of-austerity-lessons.html

CASE 422 - Fluoridation

Water fluoridation is the controlled addition of fluoride to a public water supply to reduce tooth decay. Fluoridated water has fluoride at a level that is effective for preventing cavities; this can occur naturally or by adding fluoride. Fluoridated water operates on tooth surfaces: in the mouth it creates low levels of fluoride in saliva, which reduces the rate at which tooth enamel demineralizes and increases the rate at which it remineralizes in the early stages of cavities. Typically a fluoridated compound is added to drinking water, a process that in the U.S. costs an average of about $1 per person-year. Defluoridation is needed when the naturally occurring fluoride level exceeds recommended limits. A 1994 World Health Organization expert committee suggested a level of fluoride from 0.5 to 1.0 mg/L (milligrams per litre), depending on climate. Bottled water typically has unknown fluoride levels, and some domestic water filters remove some or all fluoride.

Dental caries remain a major public health concern in most industrialized countries, affecting 60–90% of schoolchildren and the vast majority of adults. Water fluoridation prevents cavities in both children and adults, with studies estimating an 18–40% reduction in cavities when water fluoridation is used by children who already have access to toothpaste and other sources of fluoride. Although water fluoridation can cause dental fluorosis, which can alter the appearance of developing teeth, most of this is mild and usually not considered to be of aesthetic or public-health concern. There is no clear evidence of other adverse effects. Moderate-quality studies have investigated effectiveness; studies on adverse effects have been mostly of low quality. Fluoride's effects depend on the total daily intake of fluoride from all sources. Drinking water is typically the largest source; other methods of fluoride therapy include fluoridation of toothpaste, salt, and milk. Water fluoridation, when feasible and culturally acceptable, has substantial advantages, especially for subgroups at high risk. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control listed water fluoridation as one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th century; in contrast, most European countries have experienced substantial declines in tooth decay without its use, primarily due to the introduction of fluoride toothpaste in the 1970s. The use of topical fluorides (such as in toothpaste) to prevent caries among people living in both industrialized and developing countries may help supplant the need for fluoridated water. Fluoridation may be more justified in the U.S. because of socioeconomic inequalities in dental health and dental care. Public water fluoridation was first practiced in the USA, and has been introduced to many other countries to varying degrees with many countries having water that is naturally fluoridated to recommended levels and others, such as in Europe, using fluoridated salts as an alternative source of fluoride.

The goal of water fluoridation is to prevent a chronic disease whose burdens particularly fall on children and on the poor. Its use presents a conflict between the common good and individual rights. It is controversial, and opposition to it has been based on ethical, legal, safety, and efficacy grounds. Health and dental organizations worldwide have endorsed its safety and effectiveness. Its use began in 1945, following studies of children in a region where higher levels of fluoride occur naturally in the water. Researchers discovered that moderate fluoridation prevents tooth decay, but also increases the chance of cancer, lowers IQ and many other nasty things, and as of 2004 about 400 million people worldwide received fluoridated water.

CASE 421 - The history of Norway

Anciant Norway

The first people arrived in Norway after 7,000 BC when rising temperatures after the end of the last ice age made the country habitable. The first Norwegians lived by hunting (elk, deer, seal and whales) and by fishing. After 3,000 BC farming was introduced into Norway. The earliest farmers made tools and weapons from stone but after 1,500 BC bronze was used. After 500 BC Norwegians used iron. About 200 AD they began to used a form of writing called runes.

Viking Norway

During the 9th century Vikings from Norway raided Scotland, England, Ireland and France. They even raided as far south as Spain, which at that time was in Muslim hands. But the Norwegians were not just raiders. They settled in the Hebrides (islands west of Scotland). And the Shetland and Orkney islands. Norwegians also settled the Isle of Man (between England and Ireland). However in the 9th century Norway was divided into several kingdoms. Norway took longer than the other Scandinavian states to become united. At the end of the 9th century Harald Fairhair gained control of the western coast and he called himself king of Norway but he really only ruled part of it. He was followed by Eric Bloodaxe (900-935). The next king of Norway was Haakon I (935-960). He attempted to convert Norway to Christianity but he was not successful.

Olaf who ruled from 995-1000 converted the coastal area of Norway to Christianity. Olaf Haraldson 1015-1030 was the first effective king of all Norway and he converted the inland areas to Christianity. After Olaf's death his son Magnus was elected king of Norway. He was followed by Harald Hardrada in 1047. In 1066 Harald Hardrada tried to make himself king of England. However he was killed at the battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire. Harald's army was routed. That ended any Norwegian political involvement with England.

Norwegian society was divided into 3 classes. At the bottom were the thralls or slaves. Being a slave was, no doubt, horrid as they were made to do the hardest and most unpleasant work. Above the thralls were the freemen. A freeman could be quite wealthy or he could be very poor depending on how much land he owned. Above them were the nobles or jarls (from which the English word earl is derived).

Norway was converted to Christianity in the 11th century. In 995 Olav Tryggvesson made himself king of Norway (except for the south east which was in Danish hands).

Norway in the middle ages

Despite Harald Hardradas death in 1066 his family ruled Norway until 1130. However after the death of Sigurd the Crusader Norway suffered a long series of civil wars.

Peace and stability returned to Norway under Haakon IV (1217-1263). Under Haakon Norway became great. Norway annexed both Iceland and Greenland. Haakon was followed by his son Magnus known as the Lawmender. In 1266 Magnus realised it was not feasible to defend the Hebrides against attack from Scotland. So he sold the Hebrides and the Isle of Man to the Scottish king. (The Shetlands and Orkneys were given to Scotland in 1468). In 1319 Norway was temporarily united with Sweden. King Erik of Norway was elected king of Sweden. The 2 kingdoms remained united until 1355. Meanwhile in 1349-1350 the black death struck Norway. It devastated the country and probably killed half of the population.

Later in the 14th century Norway was joined to both Denmark and Sweden. Margaret I was queen of Denmark and Sweden. The Norwegians recognised her nephew as heir apparent to the Norwegian throne. In 1397 he was crowned king of all 3 kingdoms at Kalmar. Sweden broke away in 1523 but Norway remained united with Denmark until 1814.

Norway 1500-1800

In the 1530s the Reformation reached Norway. The Norwegians followed the Danes in accepting Lutheran doctrines. During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries trade and commerce in Norway grew. In the early 17th century Norwegian towns grew. In 1624 Oslo was destroyed by a fire but the Danish king Christian rebuilt it and renamed it after himself, Christiania. (The old name of Oslo was restored in 1924). In the 17th century Norway exported fish, timber, iron ore and copper. In the 18th century iron works were founded in southern Norway and they made all kinds of iron goods. The Norwegian merchant navy also grew substantially. In 1769 a census showed that Norway had a population of 728,000. The largest town was Bergen with a population of 14,000. However the growth of trade and industry should not be exaggerated. In the 18th century the vast majority of Norwegians were farmers and fishermen.

Norway in the 19th and 20th century

In 1813 Swedish forces invaded Denmark. In January 1814 Denmark was forced to surrender Norway to Sweden. However some of the Norwegians rebelled against the move. They were led by Crown Prince Christian Frederick. He called an assembly On 17 May 1814 the Norwegian assembly drew up a constitution. Christian Frederick was elected king. However in July 1814 the Swedes invaded Norway. Christian Frederick stepped down and the Norwegians accepted the Swedish king. However he agreed to accept the constitution. Although the Swedish king controlled foreign affairs Norway was allowed a considerable amount of autonomy. A Bank of Norway was founded in 1816 and the Norwegian nobility was abolished in 1821. However the years after 1815 were ones of economic hardship for Norway partly because the British timber market was lost to Canada.

Yet things improved from the 1840s onwards. In the late 19th century Norwegian agriculture and its timber industry flourished. The Norwegian merchant fleet grew rapidly and by the end of the century it was the third largest in the world after the American and the British.

The population of Norway also grew rapidly in the 19th century. At the beginning of the century it was only 883,000 but by the end of the century it had reached 2,240,000. That was despite the fact that many Norwegians emigrated to the USA in the late 19th century.

Meanwhile nationalism in Norway grew in the 19th century. Matters came to a head in 1882. The Norwegian parliament or Storting passed a law, which stated that members of the government must take part in debates in the Storting. The Storting passed the law 3 times but each time the Swedish king Oscar II vetoed it. Eventually the Norwegians decided to impeach the entire government. They were impeached and convicted in 1884 and forced to resign. Afterwards the king was forced to give in. From then on Norway was a parliamentary democracy. In 1898 all men (except those receiving poor relief) were given the vote.

Norwegian Independence

From 1891 the Norwegians demanded a separate consular service. However the Swedes refused. Negotiations were held but they broke down early in 1905. The Storting took unilateral action. It passed a law creating a Norwegian consular service. The Swedish king vetoed the bill. The Norwegian government then resigned. The king could not form a new government. In June 1905 politician Christian Michelsen argued that the Swedish king had effectively abdicated by failing to appoint a new government. He was no longer acting as king of Norway. So the Storting declared that the union with Sweden was dissolved because of 'the king ceasing to function as a Norwegian king'. On 13 August 1905 the Norwegians voted in a referendum and overwhelmingly approved of independence for Norway.

Negotiations were held with the Swedes and agreement was reached on 23 September 1905. The Swedish king formally gave up all claim to the Norwegian throne on 26 October 1905. The question of who should be head of state in Norway was answered by a referendum on 12-13 November 1905. The Norwegians voted for a monarchy. Prince Carl of Denmark became King Haakon VII. After independence the Norwegian economy prospered. Hydroelectricity boomed and in 1915 a ten hour day was introduced.

During the First World War Norway remained neutral. However as a result of unrestricted German submarine warfare half of the Norwegian fleet was sunk and about 2,000 Norwegian sailors lost their lives. In the 1920s and 1930s unemployment was high in Norway. However the depression of the 1930s was less serious in Norway than in many parts of Europe.

When the Second World War began in 1939 Norway remained neutral. However on 9 April 1940 the Germans invade Norway. They quickly captured Narvik, Trondheim, Bergen and Oslo. The French and British sent help. They recaptured Narvik on 26 May. However the military situation in France was deteriorating and the British and French were forced to withdraw their forces on 7 June. Also on 7 June the king and the government fled to Britain. Despite their brave resistance the Norwegians were forced to capitulate on 10 June. Norway was occupied for the rest of the war.

A traitor, Vidkun Quisling, co-operated with the Germans but many Norwegians resisted. About 35,000 of them were arrested by the Germans. Furthermore the Norwegian merchant fleet fled to Britain. Norwegian merchant ships were a considerable help to Britain but half of them were sunk during the war. After 1945 Norway gave up the policy of neutrality and in 1949 she joined NATO. Norway soon recovered from the war and the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s were years of prosperity. There was full employment. However unemployment rose in the late 1980s.

In the 1970s Norway began to exploit vast reserves of oil and gas found in the North Sea. Meanwhile the number of jobs in traditional industries like agriculture and timber declined while the number of people employed in service industries increased. In 1972 the Norwegians voted by 53% to 47% not to join the Common Market (forerunner of the EU). In 1994 the Norwegian voted against joining the EU in another referendum.

Today Norway is a prosperous country and its people have a high standard of living and Norway for a century have been 1 of the richest countries GDP per capita. Norway also escaped the recession of 2009 relatively unscathed. Unemployment in Norway was only 3.3% in 2011 much lower than in most European countries. Today the population of Norway is 4.7 million.