Keeping New Money on Board: The New Nordic Wealth Elites and the Future of the Welfare Model

The Nordic welfare model, which includes e.g. high taxation, public services and collective agreements, has been a pioneer in the pursuit of social stability, economic prosperity and happy citizens. The recipe for success has been based on a consensus between capital and the state, and on cross-class alliances. In recent decades the income gap has grown more in the Nordic countries than in other Western countries, while the pressure on welfare services and taxation has increased.

The project studies the new wealth elites and their relationship with society. The researchers will focus on Sweden and Finland and compare the role of the emerging wealth elites in society, especially the so-called tech and financial elites. The project’s working hypothesis is that the Swedish and Finnish wealth elites are currently renegotiating their position vis-à-vis the welfare state, in light of the growing importance of the financial economy and new technologies in society.

The research has three main purposes: to identify key groups among the new wealth elites; to study the elites’ understanding of the Nordic welfare model; and to research the networks and institutions surrounding the new wealth elites as well as the practices, e.g. philanthropic initiatives that the elites have undertaken.

The researchers want to understand, among other things, how the new wealth elites are changing or challenging the Nordic model. They will also investigate if there are differences between the elites, e.g. if there are groups who are more in favour of the Nordic model than others and whether there are groups that develop progressive alternatives to it.

The researchers in the project represent sociology, communication science, cultural studies and business administration. The research material is collected using qualitative methods such as interviews, participatory observation and field studies. The project is hosted by the University of Tampere. The project has been granted 900,000 euros.

Project group

Associate professor Hanna Kuusela (project leader), Jyväskylä University
Professor Anu Kantola, University of Helsinki
Professor Mikael Holmqvist, Stockholm University
D.Soc.Sci Laura Tarkiainen, University of Tampere
D.Soc.Sci Henri Koskinen, University of Turku