Kindergarten Landlord: Should Norwegian taxpayers finance profits for one of the world’s largest asset managers?

Norway operates one of the most effective welfare states on the planet, underpinned by both tax and regulation. This has been increasingly clear in recent decades in the early childhood and care (ECEC) sector, where Norway has achieved universal access to ECEC services, significantly increasing the number of kindergartens across the country whilst capping prices for households. This all comes at a cost, and the Norwegian Government invests billions of kroner to deliver quality public services; roughly two percent of GDP covers ECEC services alone.

This report looks at the expanding role of profit-seeking private sector actors in Norwegian kindergartens. It focuses on a number of recent corporate deals that appear to have enabled significant profit extraction for the owners of corporate kindergarten chains and these case studies are used to explore the increasing “financialisation” of public services – in this case Norwegian kindergartens – in which financial actors and motivations shape how services are delivered, and who benefits