News

On June 15, Elin Colmsjö participated in the Economic Opportunity European Conference, where she presented her research “A Flying Start: Intergenerational Transfers, Wealth Accumulation and Entrepreneurship of Descendants.” In the paper, Elin analyzes how parents’ financial support in the housing market contributes to their children’s long‑term wealth accumulation. The conference was hosted by Sciences Po in Paris and was the first of its kind in Europe.

At the CESifo Junior Workshop on Labor Economics in Munich on May 28, 2016, Elin Colmsjö was awarded the Best Paper Prize. The paper, "Workplace Violence", co-authored with Daphne Skandalis, University of Copenhagen, examines the health and economic consequences of experiencing violence in the workplace. The paper will be released as a working paper later this year. 

On April 30–May 1, Hans Grönqvist participated in the NBER Children and Families Program Meeting, where he presented the paper “Criminal Records, Family Formation and Violence Against Women” (co-authored with Susan Niknami, SOFI, Stockholm University, and Jeffrey Grogger, University of Chicago and NBER). The presentation focused on how criminal background information affects individuals’ future employment opportunities and the risk of continued criminal behavior. The conference took place at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Daniel Waldenström recently visited the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Fiscal Affairs Department in Washington, D.C. During the visit, Daniel Waldenström delivered two presentations. In the first, he presented recent research findings on capital taxation, an area of major importance in the ongoing international tax policy debate.

Henrik Horn participated in the Greek Public Policy Forum, held on Crete on April 18–19. He presented research on "Trade Treaty Trouble," highlighting possible reforms to the WTO. The conference was attended, among others, by academic lawyers, political scientists and economists, politicians, and officials from the European Commission. The participants discussed current issues ranging from the global to the local level. Henrik Horn's co-author is Petros C. Mavroidis, Professor at Columbia Law School. 

On April 20, Lars Persson was invited to talk at the Industry Forum 2026, at Hanaholmen, Finland. The theme was how multinational cooperation can strengthen and dynamize the business sector. The opening speech was given by Central Bank Governor Erik Thedéen, Sweden, who spoke about how companies can handle the new security and geopolitical landscape and how cooperation in the Baltic Sea region can be strengthened. Lars spoke about the importance of formal and informal institutions for the Nordic tech industry.

Daniel Waldenström, researcher at IFN and chairman of the Swedish Economic Association, discussed economic inequality in advanced economies with Gabriel Zucman, Paris School of Economics, with a particular focus on Sweden.

Since the year 2000, IFN has organized an annual conference in Stockholm, the IFN Stockholm Conference, in research areas that are important to the institute. The hosting rotates between IFN's research programs. In December 2025, the conference was organized within the research program The Economics of Entrepreneurship, with Lars Persson as the program director and jointly with Pehr-Johan Norbäck.

Lars Oxelheim participated when the European International Business Academy held its 51st annual conference from December 11 to 13. This year's conference took place in Athens with over 700 participants. Lars Oxelheim contributed two research papers and had the pleasure of seeing one of them – co-authored with colleagues from England and Norway – awarded the prize for the best paper in the field of international finance and corporate governance.

On November 24, Daniel Waldenström was invited to speak about ownership, distribution, and capital taxation at the Norwegian ownership conference Eierkonferansen. The conference was organized by the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO), the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, and Family Business Network Norway.

Alexandra Allard, Ph.D. student at Örebro University and Södertörn University, and also affiliated as a Ph.D. student with IFN, defended her dissertation on October 24. The title of her dissertation is Employment, Externalities, and Exploitation: Empirical Essays on Maritime Sectors and Renewable Resource Management.

Daniel Waldenström was invited to speak at the European Family Business conference held in Lisbon on October 13–14. Daniel participated in two sessions. First, in a panel discussion on wealth taxation and experiences from Sweden, and then in a presentation based on his book Richer and More Equal – A New History of Wealth in the West, with a discussion on ownership and distribution as well as growth and lessons from history.

We welcome Jimmy Karlsson, a new postdoctoral researcher at IFN. Jimmy defended his dissertation on September 26 at the University of Gothenburg with the thesis The Economic Impacts of Carbon Taxation and Climate Change. His research lies at the intersection of environmental economics and labor economics, focusing on the distributional effects of the green transition across firms and workers.

On October 2–3, Hans Grönqvist organized the second workshop in the project on crime initiated by the Swedish Research Council. Around 40 researchers gathered over two days to present and discuss current research on crime, identifying significant challenges for the future.

Gordon Philipps is a professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, USA. On August 27, he was invited to IFN to present current research on the topic "New Technology Sectoral Disruptions" (co-authored by Tolga Caskurlu and Gerard Hoberg). The study examines how major technological advancements affect companies and the business landscape. The results show that these advancements create significant economic value.

We welcome Johan Orrenius to IFN. Johan defended his dissertation in June 2025 at the Stockholm School of Economics with the thesis Essays on Markets: Digital Attention, Market Definitions and Education. His research focuses on applied microeconomics, digital economy, and education economics.

We congratulate Pia Nilsson, who has been appointed Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Helsinki. Pia will continue as a researcher at IFN.

On July 28–31, Lars Oxelheim participated in the  World Finance Conference in Malta. He presented a research paper co-authored with two Japanese professors on the significance of corporate governance for the green transformation.  

The Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN) is launching a new research program in geoeconomics, a field that combines geographical, economic, and political factors. The program aims to analyze how rising global tensions affect trade, investment, and industrial policy, as well as how these developments influence business decisions. The research will provide decision-makers with insights through analyses, case studies, and policy recommendations. Eight researchers are participating, and several projects are already underway, including ones focused on critical raw materials, sanctions, energy security, and changing supply chains. Fredrik Sjöholm is the program director. Read more.