
Construction Costs in the Nordic Countries - another
https://pedestrianobservations.com/2019/05/03/construction-costs-in-the-nordic-countries/
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eesmith
The two most provocative paragraphs for me were the last two:

> And yet, I don’t see that much praise for Nordic infrastructure. There are
> people in the English-speaking world making grandiose claims about how
> democratic countries need to be more like China and about how
> authoritarianism is just more efficient. I don’t know of any making that
> claim about how Nordic social democracy is more efficient, with its
> depoliticized state apparatus, multiparty elections, high levels of
> transparency, bureaucratic legalism, and near-universal collective
> bargaining.

> Across all levels of public transportation investment, from high-speed rail
> down to routine track upgrades, we see inexpensive, efficient projects in
> the Nordic countries. They achieve high levels of rail usage without
> megacities in which only masochists drive, and keep expanding their networks
> in order to complete the green transition. Public transit managers in not
> just the laggard that is the US but also Germany and other relatively solid
> countries should make sure to study how things work in Scandinavia and how
> they can import Nordic success.

