Northern Neighbours

John Bryden is a Political Economist. He is Emeritus Professor of Human Geography at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and has worked as research professor with the Norwegian Agricultural Economics Research Institute since 2008. John has been a Government advisor, and was external advisor to the Scottish Land Reform Policy Group. He has been visiting scholar at the Universities of Guelph, Cornell, Missouri-Colombia, and Pretoria as well as at the Centre for Development Studies in Kerala, India, and at the University of Pretoria. Ottar Brox is a former professor of sociology and planning at the University of Tromsø, and Senior Researcher, Norwegian Institute of Urban and Regional Research. He has published about 25 books, most of them in Norwegian, on community and regional development, rural industries and immigration. He has also served as a member of the Norwegian Parliament and the Oslo City Council. Lesley Riddoch is one of Scotland’s best known commentators and broadcasters. She won two SONY awards for radio programmes with BBC Scotland, presented Radio 4’s You & Yours and BBC 2’s Midnight Hour. Lesley was assistant editor of The Scotsman and Contributing Editor of the Sunday Herald. She’s a regular Scotsman columnist, co-founder of the policy group Nordic Horizons and author of Blossom – What Scotland Needs to Flourish.

• AcknowledgementsPreface by Tom Devine1. Introduction, John Bryden, Erik Opsahl, Ottar Brox & Lesley Riddoch2. Towards a Theory of Divergent Development, John Bryden3. Cousins Divided? Development in and of political institutions in Scotland and Norway since 1814, Øivind Bratberg & Nik. Brandal4. Agrarian Change in Scotland and Norway: Agricultural Production, Structures, Politics and Policies since 1800, John Bryden & Agnar Hegrenes5. The Evolution of Local Government and Governance in Scotland and Norway, Eberhart Bort, John Bryden & Karen Refsgaard6. Industrial Development and North Sea Oil: Contrasts from Norway and Scotland, John Bryden & Ottar Brox7. Reflections on the Making of Norway, Ottar Brox8. Money and Banking in Scotland and Norway, John Bryden & John Keith Hart9. Religion in Scotland and Norway, Arne Bugge Amundsen & Michael Rosie10. The Nordic Welfare Model in Norway and Scotland, Mary Hilson & Andrew Newby11. Access, Nature, Culture and the Great Outdoors – Norway and Scotland, Lesley Riddoch12. Education in Norway and Scotland: Developing and re-forming the systems by Bronwen Cohen & Wenche Rønning13. The Differential Impacts of the Two World Wars in Norway and Scotland, Tore Petersen14. Conclusions, Lesley Riddoch, Ottar Brox & John BrydenIndex

. . . a fascinating study of comparative history . . . the historical background leads into pertinent assessments of how far the much-vaunted 'Nordic Model' of higher taxation and a more potent welfare state is actually fit for purpose in Scotland given the radically different historical formations of the two countries. Here the volume contributes effectively not only to an understanding of the past but also to an important aspect of the constitutional and public policy debates of today and into the future.'