The social welfare system in Nordic countries has played an important role in promoting economic prosperity, social stability and people's living and working in peace and contentment. At present, about 70-80% of the people in Nordic countries are middle-income groups, and they have basically achieved the same prosperity. Social equity has been maintained. About 80% of middle-income people generally have a minimum income of not less than 2,500 euros and a maximum income of not more than 1 10,000 euros. The country belongs to the people, everything is transparent and there is basically no corruption. Richness, fairness and efficiency are the goals of socialist market economy. Therefore, the unique economic and social system in Northern Europe provides useful reference and enlightenment for further thinking about China's economic and social reform.

First, the pragmatic third way: choose an economic and social system that suits your national conditions.

Generally speaking, the Nordic model, as a unique economic and social system different from other European countries, has made important contributions to promoting economic growth, social stability and social justice in Nordic countries, and will maintain its basic adaptability for a long time to come.

1. Liberate ownership and control income distribution rights. The proportion of state-owned economy in Nordic countries is not high, mainly concentrated in the state-owned public sector that provides public services. The main function of the government is to provide public goods. For example, in Finland, the traditional basic departments are not provided by the government now, and the fields such as telephone and telecommunications have achieved full competition. The government has only stipulated certain principles in these aspects to ensure the realization of universal service. For example, the government should ensure that other companies can use the network built by the private sector and supervise pricing. At present, the sectors that are not privatized but still state-owned are mainly education, medical care, railways, aviation and energy companies. A very prominent feature of northern Europe is that it does not emphasize concentration in the field of production, but emphasizes concentration in the field of income redistribution.

2, to provide everyone with a minimum living guarantee, to ensure the unity of national welfare, equal access to the minimum living guarantee. This "comprehensive social security" covers all citizens, including foreigners or other taxpayers living in the local area. Personal welfare and public services have nothing to do with income. Through various statutory welfare protection plans, a social safety net has been established, thus making the enjoyment of social welfare a basic social right of citizens.

3. Universal social welfare and high proportion of public expenditure are the basis and premise of high taxation. Because of the progressive income tax, the marginal tax rate of personal income is very high. Finland's highest income tax rate is close to 70%, Sweden's share of tax revenue is 53%, and Western Europe's average is 40-50%. Sweden also taxes cash benefits. According to the regulations, in principle, all pension income is subject to income tax. Citizens who only receive the basic pension or a small amount of supplementary pension, but whose annual income is less than 90,000 kroner, can be exempted or reduced, and can apply for housing allowance or pension subsidy. Both sick leave allowance and childcare allowance are subject to income tax and insurance tax in proportion. Taxation in Nordic countries is not based on families, but on individuals, and men and women are equal.

4. Local governments have greater autonomy in providing social welfare and public services. For example, the tax at the town and county level in Sweden is determined by the local authorities, and the tax rate is roughly 29-33%. The county government is responsible for providing medical care, public transportation and other expenses and services, and others are provided by the municipal level. According to Finnish law, the level of local taxes is determined by local governments. However, there is little difference in tax rates from place to place, and the income tax is between 16-22%. In addition to taxes, local governments can also obtain special funds and subsidies from the state to provide public services. At present, the central government allocates funds in the form of total control rather than special projects, and local governments decide how to allocate them independently. Local governments can also decide for themselves whether public services should be provided by themselves or by other private sectors.

Second, form a social structure with middle income as the main body.

1. Under the strong income redistribution policy, a stable social structure with middle-income people as the main body will be formed. In the Nordic countries, except the low-income group and the highest-income group, the middle-income group accounts for 80-85% of the total population. At present, the social structure of Nordic countries has also changed, and the proportion of workers and farmers in the traditional sense has been very small.

2. The income gap is small, and the income is relatively equal. According to the human development index published by the United Nations Development Programme in 2002, the Gini coefficient of Nordic countries ranks among the leading industrialized countries, such as Norway 0.258, Sweden 0.250 and Finland 0.256, all of which belong to the countries with the smallest income gap in the world. According to the data we learned from the Bank of Finland (the central bank), the monthly income of the governor of the central bank is about 15000 euros, and the income tax rate is 50%. The monthly income of department heads is about 7,000 euros; The monthly income of the staff who just graduated and entered the bank for research work is 2500 euros; The monthly income of bank cleaners and security guards is around 2000 euros. Comparatively speaking, the gap between the highest income and the lowest income of banks is more than 7 times before tax and about 3 times after tax. The salary of the Finnish Prime Minister is about half that of the central bank governor. Most high-income earners are presidents or bosses of private enterprises, which can reach 50,000 euros per month, but the corresponding tax rate may be above 60%. If Sweden's middle income index is 100, then the highest income index is 175 and the lowest income index is 65. Compared with the poorest upper limit 10%, the difference is 3: 1.

3. Promote full employment of the labor force. The characteristics of social welfare services are to improve the market participation of the labor force, such as enabling the disabled and unemployed to re-participate in the market as much as possible, and improving and increasing human capital through education and medical services. For those who still can't work normally after 90 days off due to illness, the government will help formulate corresponding rehabilitation plans, some of which will last for several years. For the unemployed, the government will provide retraining to upgrade their skills to meet the new employment needs.

4. Successfully solved the redistribution and balance between urban and rural areas. Rural areas should get the same public goods and services as cities, which are two important concepts and principles for establishing social welfare system. When establishing the welfare system, we emphasize the redistribution and balance between urban and rural areas. The main consideration is to prevent excessive population transfer to cities, which will bring social instability and urban poverty. For political and homeland security reasons, it is necessary to maintain the average distribution of the national population; Let people live in their hometown, and don't let them be displaced and leave their homes; Politically, it is because the electoral system leans towards sparsely populated areas.

5. Effectively promote social justice and political stability. According to the law and relevant measures, regardless of individuals or state officials, personal income must be open and transparent, and any individual can inquire. If the Finnish central bank governor treats guests on business, even the menu should be announced. It is reported that shortly before our visit, some media thought that a banquet hosted by the governor of the central bank was too expensive and publicly questioned it in the newspaper.

Third, positive adjustment under the new situation.

In recent 10 years, Nordic countries have tried to seek new adjustments to adapt to the new situation. In fact, the Nordic countries have made great adjustments since the 1970s. Sweden and Finland have the largest adjustments. Norway is rich in oil resources and has a huge oil fund (200 1 year 600 billion kronor, accounting for nearly 50% of GDP in that year). Therefore, the pressure is relatively small and the adjustment degree is minimal. Sweden's social welfare system is a pioneer in northern Europe. After the crisis of190' s, there are three trends in Swedish welfare model. First, decentralization, the government's power is more decentralized and decentralized. Under the unified guidance of the central government, the number of public services provided by local governments has increased, and 80% of public expenditure has been completed by local governments. The second is privatization, that is, privatization of public services, and the service items and scope provided by the private sector are constantly expanding. But the money is still provided by the government through taxes. Third, the user payment system began to appear, such as the increase of personal payment in welfare homes and nursing homes. This trend has also been reversed in the past two years, and the government has set a ceiling on childcare fees and elderly care fees.

1, adjust the tax structure. In other words, high-income earners and scientific and technological talents are exempt from tax within a certain period of time, and foreign employees who are really lacking in China are exempt from tax within a certain period of time.

2. Private sector participation in service delivery. People began to have more choices. In particular, the high-income class began to participate in private insurance and buy private medical and educational services. Among the 4 million Swedish workers, 6,543,800+3,000 have started to buy life insurance, and this proportion is gradually increasing.

3. Link the services enjoyed by individuals with the taxes paid by individuals, and consider establishing a personal pension account system. At present, pensions are used centrally, and investment income has nothing to do with individuals. On the one hand, the income of the elderly should be guaranteed to the maximum extent, on the other hand, the risks should be borne entirely by the working labor force, and the compensation should be increased if there is a slight risk. The direction of reform is to share and disperse risks between pensioners and workers.

Fourthly, the enlightenment to China's economic and social reform.

1, the choice and establishment of economic and social system must be based on the national conditions of our country and choose our own path. The experience of northern Europe enlightens us that, on the one hand, we should continue to follow the established goals and choose the way and road suitable for China's national conditions; On the other hand, the system needs to be adjusted, and no institutional arrangement can be applied to all social environments once and for all. An efficient system always has stages, and it is necessary to constantly promote institutional innovation according to the changes in the situation.

2. While pursuing the efficiency of economic development, we should pay attention to the matching of social system and effective social policy. In the process of industrialization, while promoting economic development and pursuing the goal of economic efficiency, we cannot ignore the matching of social policies, which is an important guarantee for maintaining sustainable economic development, maintaining social stability and ensuring the effect of economic growth.

3. Liberalize the development of private economy and mixed economy. The practice of Nordic countries gives us the enlightenment that government supervision is not embodied in controlling enterprises, but in enhancing supervision ability. If the income of enterprises and residents increases, the government can do more for the people by raising taxes and enhancing its regulatory capacity. Therefore, we should encourage innovation, develop a variety of effective economic sectors, and fully mobilize the enthusiasm of all parties. Nordic experience also proves that private sector participation in providing education, medical care, transportation, nursing and other services can promote the realization of public policy objectives, increase individual choices and improve the efficiency of public services through competition.

The main function of the government should be to provide effective public goods and services. The practice of Nordic countries shows that under the condition of market economy, the role of government should be mainly reflected in the concentration of redistribution, not in the field of production. The main function of the government is to provide effective public services, provide good public products and provide enough space for private sector innovation. At present, there are still many difficulties in establishing a unified social security system in China. We will promote the reform of central and local financial rights and responsibilities, mobilize and give play to the enthusiasm of local governments, and promote "small government and big society" to provide services and public products that are more in line with local actual needs.

5. An open and transparent supervision mechanism and legal system are conducive to preventing abuse of power and reducing corruption. China is in the process of system transition. On the one hand, we need to speed up the legislative process and protect the basic rights of citizens by improving the legal system. On the other hand, it is necessary to strengthen law enforcement, attach importance to establishing an open and transparent supervision mechanism, and improve the restrictions on the use of power.