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Abstract

When Bernie Sanders said in his debate with Hillary Clinton that Denmark was a socialist country, which the United States ought to consider emulating, it created a big debate. Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen weighed in, saying that his country had a market economy, not a planned economy.

Cathie Jo Martin and Kathleen Thelen are scholars of comparative political economy who have recently written books that talk about the Danish model. Martin is a professor of political science at Boston University; her book with Duane Swank, “The Political Construction of Business Interests,” asks why businesses in countries like Denmark are willing to work with social partners to shape active policies on labor. Thelen is the Ford professor of political science at MIT. Her book “Varieties of Liberalization and the New Politics of Social Solidarity” examines how Denmark has found a way to deal with global market pressures that eludes many other European countries. The interview has been lightly edited for style.