To see what European companies could become, look to the Nordic countries.

Nordic countries have long been considered examples of good public policy. Politicians around the world admire Denmark’s social safety net, Finland’s hospitals, Sweden’s parental leave system and Norway’s prisons. What gets less attention is that these countries also excel at developing world-class companies. They represent only 0.3% of the world’s population and generate around 1% of global production. GDPbut produce many giant companies, from IKEAthe world’s largest furniture seller, to Lego, its largest toy maker, and to Novo Nordisk, Europe’s most valuable company.