News

On Monday the Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN) organized a roundtable discussion about energy in cooperation with the German CESifo . The starting point was the EEAG Report 2015,  chapter 2 with the title "The European Energy Conundrum: Power Failure". Professor John Driffill, Birkbeck College at the University of London, one of the report's authors, initiated the discussion. Among the almost 25 participants were Catherine Areskoug Mascarenhas, head of the European Commission Representation in Sweden, Martina Högberg, Deputy Director, Ministry of the Environment and Energy, and Mats Persson, Vice President Trading, Fortum.

Professor Lars Calmfors has been appointed to head a new independent labor market council, (arbetsmarknadsekonomiskt råd, AER), which has been formed on the initiative of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise. The Council will make assessments of the labor market and annually present a report on the subject. AER will have three additional members, one of whom is Per Skedinger, IFN. The other is Ann-Sofie Kolm, Stockholm University and Tuomas Pekkarinen VATT and University of Helsinki.

As of April 1st, Lars Calmfors, professor at the Institute for International Economic Studies, Stockholm University, is affiliated researcher at IFN. Calmfors has held numerous public and academic assignments, including as chairman of the Swedish Financial Policy Council.

In a new book – Universitetsreform! – så kan vi rädda och lyfta den högre utbildningen (University Reform! How to Save and Boost Higher Education) – six professors and authors, among other things, highlight the fact that the perception of study discipline and knowledge has changed in recent decades. This book presents several concrete reform proposals. The authors suggest, for example, that grades should be set by external examiners, and that the grading system should be standardized across the country. ”We need a system through which universities can be ranked and institutions of higher education can be compared,” said Patrik Engellau, Den Nya Välfärden, when he opened the seminar.

Private companies should be tested and then given permission to start operations in the welfare sector, explained the special investigator Christina Eriksson Stephanson when she presented the Ownership Assessment Inquiry's (ägarprövningsutredningen) results. Stephanson presented her conclusions at a seminar organized by the SNS as part of IFN and SNS’ joint research program, From Welfare State to a Welfare Society. Patrik Attemark, CEO Solhagagruppen, Johan Fredriksson, president and CEO Praktikertjänst and Ulla Hamilton, acting CEO National Association of Independent Schools also participated in the ensuing discussion.

Olle Folke, Columbia University and IFN affiliate, Torsten Persson, Stockholm University, and Johanna Rickne, IFN, have been awarded the Myrdal Prize 2014 (in memory of Professor Gunnar Myrdal), for their article "Personröster och politisk makt” (Preference voting and political power) published in Ekonomisk Debatt No. 1, 2014.

In the New York Times Professor Tyler Cowen writes about research by Niclas Berggren and Therese Nilsson, IFN, in which they have studied tolerance. "One of their most striking findings is that societies characterized by greater economic freedom and greater wealth do indeed exhibit greater tolerance toward gay people, a tendency suggesting that gay rights, including gay marriage, will spread globally as national economies liberalize and develop."

Professor Christian Bjørnskov, Aarhus University in Denmark, is a new affiliated researcher at IFN. He is part of the Economics of Institutions and Culture research program. His research focuses on social trust, happiness, development aid and institutions. Researchers within said  IFN-program study how moral values and attitudes influence human behavior and, thereby, the way the economy functions. They also focus on how the economy in turn influences morality, norms and social attitudes.

In 2014 IFN celebrated its 75th anniversary. The milestone was commemorated on November 17, with the presentation of three new books about the Institute and its research. At the same event a short film about IFN was presented. Click on the holiday gift to see the movie.

A brand new working paper published by Magnus Henrekson and Tino Sanandaji, IFN, is the subject of a blogpost written by James Pethokoukis on the American Entreprise Institute's website. The IFN-researchers argue that the overwhelming majority of self-employed individuals are not entrepreneurial in the Schumpeterian sense. "Europe has a higher self-employment rate than the United States and East Asia. At the same time, Europe has a lower entrepreneurship rate than competitive regions. Europe underperforms in entrepreneurship despite having advantages such as a skilled labour force, good infrastructure, large markets, and strong performance in technological innovation," Henrekson and Sanandaji assert.

Shaker Zahra, Professor at the Carlson School of Management at University of Minnesota, USA, received the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research 2014 on Wednesday. This Prize has been awarded annually since 1996 with a prize sum of EUR 100,000. Shaker Zahra is best known for his work on "the role of corporate entrepreneurship in knowledge creation, absorption, and conversion". In his prize lecture he explained the importance of hubs or informal networks to promote entrepreneurship in existing companies.

At a research seminar Michael Stenkula, IFN, presented the last component of the first systematic survey of the Swedish tax system – from 1862 to the present day. He showed how the Swedish tax system and its structure has been the subject of transformation and radical changes over the past 150 years. Tax structure and its impact on the economy were, for example, completely different 150 years ago. "1862 you paid one percent in national income tax. The proportion was gradually increased thereafter and temporary taxes [for example, those imposed during the two World Wars] became permanent in due time," explained Michael Stenkula.

The Social Democrats, the Green Party and the Left Party recently announced an agreement on "welfare without profit motive". A commission will submit proposals on how the revenue can be limited in firms producing publicly financed services, such as health care, education and elderly care. This was the topic of a speech by Ardalan Shekarabi, Minister for Public Administration, at a seminar organized by the SNS. Instead of profit vs non-profit in the welfare sector, he said, we should discuss how to implement "a control system that drives quality". Shekarabis talk was commented by Henrik Jordahl, IFN, Jonas Vlachos, Stockholm University and IFN, Thomas Berglund, Capio, and Lars Henriksson, Stockholm School of Economics.

IFN was founded in 1939 – then named Industrial Institute for Economic and Social Research (IUI). This vital 75 year old was celebrated on Monday with a seminar. Three new books about the institute were presented and a short film about IFN was shown for the first time. The event also included a stage discussion on how economic research has developed over the past 75 years. Participants in this dialogue included current and former researchers: Karolina Ekholm, State Secretary, Magnus Henrekson, Professor and Managing Director IFN, Assar Lindbeck, Professor IFN and Stockholm University, and Birgitta Swedenborg, former VP SNS.

Luigi Zingales, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, is critical of crony capitalism, where special interests capture political decision-makers and regulators. Rather than creating favorable conditions for markets to flourish, this kind of capitalism entails subsidies, tax breaks, and reduced competition, which benefit large companies. November 6, Luigi Zingales spoke at a seminar in Stockholm organized by IFN. Christian Bjørnskov, Professor at the University of Aarhus and Magnus Henrekson, Professor and Managing Director of IFN, commented on and discussed the presentation.

The latest issue of Ekonomisk Debatt (No. 7/2014) presents several articles by IFN-economists: Magnus Henrekson and Tino Sanandaji write about how capital taxation on ownership affect corporate activities. Niclas Berggren and Therese Nilsson write an editorial piece about inequality. Assar Lindbeck comments on the research by the French economist Thomas Piketty.

In this podcast Gabriel Sahlgren, PhD student at London School of Economics and an affiliate of IFN, and Johan Wennström, PhD student at Linköping University and employed at IFN, talks about education in Swedish schools and research in this field. They agree that there are extensive problems in the Swedish education system. Both point to the fact that "student-centered teaching methods" may be a partial explanation for declining results. This kind of education has multiplied since the 1990s.

It is difficult to measure the quality in elderly care. The participants agreed on this at a seminar organized by the SNS on the report Att styra och leda äldreomsorg. Hur går det till och vad kan förbättras?. (To govern and manage in elderly care. How does it work and what can be improved?) The report is part of IFN and SNS joint research program From welfare state to a welfare society. The study is authored by Henrik Jordahl and Jannis Angelis, IFN. Gun-Britt Trydegård, Stockholm University, commented on the report, which she called "exemplary". Corresponding studies in the fields of healthcare and education will be published in 2015.

Niklas Elert and Özge Öner have recently beenbrought on as researchers at IFN. Niklas Elert received his doctorate in economics in September 2014 at Örebro University. The title of his dissertation is Economic Dynamism - Essays on Firm Entry and Firm Growth, and it addresses two key aspects of economic dynamics: creation and business growth, 1997 to 2010. Özge Öner received her doctorate in May 2014 at the International Business School in Jönköping. The topic of her dissertation is Retail Location. Her research interests include urban and regional economics, the geography of retail, as well as service and tourism.

Ewa Lazarczyk received her doctorate degree September 4 with the thesis Essays on Electricity Markets: Information and Trading. With a master's degree from the Warsaw School of Economics, she came to the Stockholm School of Economics in 2008. Ewa Lazarczyk is associated with IFN's research program The Economics of Electricity Markets.
 

Costs started to soar in the 70s, explained Andreas Bergh and Assar Lindbeck at a seminar organized by IFN, when discussing about the Swedish welfare state. They agreed that the Swedish welfare system in some parts, needs to be reformed. "Though, it is difficult for politicians to reform without a crisis," said Lindbeck. At the seminar a new book authored by Andreas Bergh was presented and discussed – Sweden and the Revival of the Capitalist Welfare State. Irene Wennemo, editorial writer for Dagens Arena also participated in the debate.