Daron Acemoglu, the Elizabeth and James Killian professor of economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is co-author of "Why Nations Fail: Origins of Power, Poverty and Prosperity" and "Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy."

The sophisticated safety net that ensures few Danes ever experience poverty, fear hunger or lack in health care does not come cheap. The Danish economy may be the most heavily taxed in the world, with rich Danes paying over 55 percent of their total income in taxes to support generous social services.

Even if high taxes, redistribution and low inequality is appealing to some, there are reasons to be skeptical that the U.S. could ever be like Scandinavia. Beyond the fact that Denmark is small and homogeneous — so it eludes many of the social, educational and economic challenges that the vast, multi-ethnic and deeply diverse U.S. must contend with — Denmark is technologically behind the U.S.

If the U.S. increased taxation to Denmark levels, it would reduce rewards for entrepreneurship, with negative consequences for growth and prosperity.

As a result, the country significantly benefits from, and in some cases relies on, the technologies American entrepreneurs create. American technologies are used by Danish consumers and built upon by Danish companies, but in Denmark, the existence of the social welfare state means far fewer rewards for similar entrepreneurship.

The situation would be very different in a world where the Danes did not have access to the inventions of Silicon Valley or the new drugs and medical technologies created by U.S. companies. Imagine if the U.S. increased taxation, reduced rewards for entrepreneurship and discouraged risk-taking: It is reasonable to expect that its entrepreneurs — in Silicon Valley, medicine, robotics and aerospace, to name a few — would become less daring and innovative. This could have negative consequences for growth and prosperity not only in the United States, but throughout the world. There is no other country that could step in as the innovation engine of the world economy.

All of this is not to say that there isn't much the U.S. can learn from Scandinavia, especially in alleviating and preventing poverty, in creating a level playing field for its citizens, and in achieving higher rates of social mobility. Some of the lessons the U.S. could learn might make innovation more inclusive, and consequently, even further propel the American economy. But when it comes to emulating Denmark or Scandinavia wholesale, Hillary Clinton put it best: "We are not Denmark.... We are the United States of America."



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