In contrast to outsider views of Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway as quaint countries with little going on, Partanen noted in her Atlantic piece that many multi-national corporations are based out of Nordic countries.
"Nordic nations have produced what is, by any metric, an impressive output of successful entrepreneurs, international businesses, and brands," she wrote. Those include Spotify (Sweden), Ikea (Sweden), H&M (Sweden), Nokia (Finland), and Lego (Denmark).
"At the most basic level, what the Nordic approach does is reduce the risk of starting a company," Partanen wrote, "since basic services such as education and health care are covered for regardless of the fledgling company’s fate."