Workers are guaranteed a paid vacation. The huge cost of these programs is shared by workers, employers, and the government. But, while many in the Storting, Norway's parliament, want to reduce welfare's cost, almost all support its goals. Today's economy supports that policy. Their nation is debt-free.
Inflation is under control.
And, by early 2000, unemployment was at a low 2.8 percent. So the tax base for Norway's welfare programs is strong. That probability influences decisions in Oslo, Norway's capital. As a democratic nation, Norway supports free-market competition . Yet it also retains elements of a mixed economy .