While the Nordic model which provides for citizens from cradle to grave has proven to work, its sustainability amid globalisation and an ageing population is being questioned. SMU Professor of Economics Hoon Hian Teck said that “The Nordic countries expanded their welfare state in the three decades or so after World War II when their old-age dependency ratio was generally low, so their social insurance systems... were healthy.” “Despite having higher total fertility rates compared to Singapore's... the decline in birth rates and increased life expectancy are nevertheless placing a strain on the Nordic social insurance systems.”