Norway has proposed a very interesting policy experiment.
The Ministry of Finance wants to randomly select 100,000 young people and offer them a tax deduction of up to NOK 27,500 per year (€2390) — but only if they work.
You work, you get the benefit. No work, no deduction. It’s a clear, simple incentive — designed to test whether tying support to employment actually helps more people enter (or stay in) the workforce.
Finland tried something similar — but approached it very differently.
Back in 2017–2018, Finland gave 2,000 unemployed people €560 a month for two full years, unconditionally. No requirements, no job-search rules. Just money — whether they worked or not.
What happened?
Well-being improved. People were less stressed, more secure, happier. But employment didn’t change much. People didn’t take more jobs just because they had stable income.
So what’s the difference?
It comes down to conditionality.
Finland tested what happens when you give people money, no matter what. Norway wants to test what happens when you offer support conditionally. This is, only if people do what the system is "encouraging" to do.
And that’s the big question Finland left open:
Should public support be unconditional — or should it come with expectations?
This new proposal from Norway won’t answer everything. But it will give us valuable data. And that’s exactly what we need more of — especially as many countries rethink how welfare and tax systems are designed.
And even more needed when countries are drafting tax schemes to do things like lower down carbon emissions, increase the reuse and recycle of materials or support the re-industrialisation of their economies. Just to mention a few.
It’s simplistic to think of taxes as just paying for public services. In fact, the way we design taxes and deductions guide decisions — like whether to work, how much to work, or when to return to work.
This isn’t about if you vote for red, green or blue — it’s about systems design and systems thinking.
It’s about building state mechanisms that help more people contribute to economic growth and value creation — instead of free-riding.
It’s about getting more understanding on what type of incentive systems actually work.
Because remember, in the end, and no matter what, you get what you pay for.
