Study after study has shown that Scandinavia is the most trusting region in the world. Danes in particular trust other people and organizations—including strangers, businesses, governments, law enforcement, and media—more than the citizens of any other country. And countries with deep pools of social trust are populated by individuals who cooperate with each other in ways that allow public and private institutions to function more efficiently and cheaply.

Is the Nordic countries’ high level of social trust just as important for creating prosperity and happiness within a population as other, more tangible economic factors? If so, where does this stock of social trust in Scandinavia come from? Does it help to explain the development of the universal welfare states and their surprisingly high business competitiveness? Can other nations learn from the region and apply that knowledge to settings where social trust levels are low or in danger of being eroded?

Social trust has proven economic value, and Gert Tinggaard Svendsen warns that its benefits should never be taken for granted. Trust can dissolve and vanish quickly, and once gone, it is very difficult to rebuild. Governments and corporations are gradually increasing their control over people’s public and private lives, with predictably worrying results. When people feel taken advantage of or lied to, public confidence evaporates. Since strong social cohesion drives long-term prosperity, Nordic exceptionalism on maintaining and restoring trust offers valuable lessons.

Gert Tinggaard Svendsen is a professor in comparative politics at Aarhus University and is known worldwide for his research on trust. He was appointed knight of the Order of Dannebrog, one of Denmark’s highest civic honors, in 2016. Christian Bjørnskov is a professor of economics at Aarhus University and an affiliated researcher with the Research Institute of Industrial Economics in Stockholm. He is a member of the editorial boards of Public Choice and the European Journal of Political Economy.