It is hard for a government to get its core functions right. But some, such as the Nordic nations, New Zealand, or Singapore, do manage to do significantly better than others, and their model provides lessons for (much bigger) economies too.
The most remarkable blueprint, in fact, may come from Singapore. The city-state was one of the Asian Tigers, which starting in the 1960s underwent an incredible technological and economic transformation. It is now the prime tech and trade hub of Asia. To get there, its efforts to provide high-quality education, healthcare and housing to all its citizens, played a crucial role that may come as a surprise to those who think of Singapore as a collection of flashy skyscrapers, reserved for the happy few among the international jet set.
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