IFN in the Press

Medicalexpress is presenting new research by Petra Persson, Stanford University and IFN, et al.  They find that those with relatives in the health profession are 10 percent more likely to live beyond age 80. They are also significantly less likely to have chronic lifestyle-related conditions, such as heart attacks, heart failure and diabetes.

The Daily Signal and more outlets write about the first statewide rent control law in the US. "Economists say rent controls are destructive. [...] The economist Assar Lindbeck [IFN] said that “next to bombing, rent control seems in many cases to be the most efficient technique so far known for destroying cities.”

MPs have been briefed on a new research paper that assesses the pros and cons of rent controls in England, notes Landlord News: "The paper also discusses rent controls in other countries, including intense opposition from the likes of Assar Lindbeck [IFN] , a professor in Stockholm: “In many cases, rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city – except for bombing.”

Property Industry Eye writes about a research paper that has been published to help brief MPs on the arguments for and against rent controls. Rent control in other countries is mentioned and Assar Lindbeck, IFN och Stockholm University is quoted having said that "in many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city – except for bombing.”

American Star Tribune is writing that "Scandinavian capitalism is different from that in the United States".  The writer is quoting Assar Lindbeck, IFN and Stockholm University, who in 1997 described what happened in Sweden after WW II: "In Lindbeck's words, the Swedish model looked 'less idyllic' by the early 1990s."

Economist publishes a text explaining why rare first names may help explain political differences. Economist quote Mounir Karadja and Erik Prawitz [IFN] clarifying "that the option to emigrate emboldened workers to join unions, who backed leftist parties. But emigrants’ rare names imply another possible explanation: an exodus of individualists left behind people friendly to collectivism."

Magnus Henrekson, IFN, is interviewed by Bloomberg about reforms needed to create more entrepreneurship in Europe.

Read the article here 

And here

Seeking Alpha is writing about "debt, debt, and more debt ". The journal is quoting research by Andreas Bergh and Magnus Henrekson, IFN: In their "paper 'Government Size and Growth: A Survey and Interpretation of the Evidence', found that as government size increases, GDP growth declines".

Nordic Labour Journal argues that "big changes to the labor market could be just around the corner, depending on who ends up forming a government". The writer is quoting Lars Calmfors, IFN, in regards to the industry’s role in wage formation. Calmfors were saying that “If these sectors are to meet their labor needs, wage increases must probably be higher than what suits the industry”.

An article by Pehr-Johan Norbäck, Lars Persson and Roger Svensson is published at Vox.eu, the policy portal of CEPR. Theyv argue that to stimulate the entry and growth of small entrepreneurial firms you need to combine subsidy schemes with policies that improve the merger and acquisition market for small entrepreneurial firms.  

The New Zealand Mortgage Mag publish a text about the Residential Tenancies Act in which changes are proposed, for example, to end "the 90 day no cause termination". The landlord and lawyer writing argues: "The proposed measures would only succeed in the manner predicted by renowned Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck [IFN] in his 1972 quote: “Rent control: the most efficient technique to destroy a city - except for bombing”.

What makes a leader and a start-up successful? The Telegraph is referring to research by Gabriel Heller Sahlgren, LSE and affiliated to IFN, showing that leaders with qualifications in business, social science and law are best at driving growth. They are most likely to employ others, so taking crucial first steps toward becoming high-quality entrepreneurs.

National Review Online states that in California "a ballot initiative under consideration, Proposition 10, would open the way toward expanding government-imposed price controls on residential rentals". The magazine is mentioning Assar Lindbeck, IFN and Stockholm University, who "called rent control the most effective way to destroy a city short of bombing".

The web magazine 3 Quarks Daily is publishing a text about The Nobel Factor, by Avner Offer and Gabriel Söderberg: "This rather local agenda, pressed by the influential economist Assar Lindbeck [...] was, the authors argue, crucial to explaining the pattern of awards. The authors go so far as to contrast Economics with Social Democracy, in the process identifying the discipline as a whole with its most market‐oriented strand."

Yves Zenou, affiliated tyo IFN, et al argues at Voxeu.org (the policy portar of CEPR) that "being ‘socially’ close to criminal leaders strongly affects a person’s involvement in crime". Sudyingschools in the US, it shows that removing all criminal leaders from a school can, on average, reduce criminal activity by about 20% and the individual probability of becoming a criminal by 10%.

Magnus Henrekson and Johan Wennström, IFN, write in The Quillette about recently published research on the Swedish school system: "Lessons from Sweden indicate that countries with a tradition of social-constructivist practices in their education system, and which are considering implementing or expanding market-based school reforms, should proceed with caution. For example, the U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has stated that she wants to enact a model of school choice that is identical to the one Sweden has."

Candian MTL News asks a number of people what they think "are the most important steps to take to improve California’s shortage of affordable housing?" Lanhee Chen, Stanford University, is one of the respondents that refers to Assar Lindbeck, IFN, who has called rent control "'the best way to destroy a city, other than bombing.' He’s absolutely right. Voters should reject Proposition 10 this Fall."

Sam Dumitriu, in CapX , argues that a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research "focuses on the wrong causes and ignore the real problems" in regards to produtctivity ang growth. He is quoting Magnus Henrekson, IFN: "Economic growth is not primarily about firms growing by a similar percentage or productivity rising in existing jobs because of technological change and more capital per worker. Rather, it comes mainly from churning (firm and job turnover) and restructuring — mostly shifts in production from less to more successful firms”.

The Mail On Sunday writes about an article in NYT referring to research by Erik Lindqvist, Stockholm School of Economics and affiliated to IFN, Robert Ostling, Stockholm University, and David Cesarini, New York University and affiliated to IFN.  The web site points to the research due to falling  lottery ticket sales.

New York Times is writing about research by Erik Lindqvist, Stockholm School of Economics and affiliated to IFN, Robert Ostling, Stockholm University, and David Cesarini, New York University and affiliated to IFN: "New research suggests that more money really does lead to a more satisfying life. Surveys of thousands of Swedish lottery winners have provided persuasive evidence of this truth."

Freedom Bunker, a platform for Libertarian news, is writing about research by Niclas Berggren, IFN, and Christian Bjørnskov, Aarhus University and affiliated to IFN: "Our results indicate that while reforms of government size are not robustly related to satisfaction with democracy, reforms of the other three kinds are—and in a way that runs counter to the anti-liberalization claims."

American F3News writes about the genetic influence on educational attainment. The magazine is referring to David Cesarini, New York University and affiliated to IFN, who is a co-founder of the Social Science Genetic Association Consortium along with Daniel Benjamin and Philipp Koellinger. Their goal was to find a reliable measure of heritable influence on educational attainment so that other researchers could control for genetics in their experiments, the same way they’d control for socioeconomic status or zip code. 

The American Spectator​ writes that the proposal from the Democratic Party in California to combine rent controls and massive subsidaries for renters will have a negative impact on the housing stock. The authors quotes Assar Lindbeck's, IFN, conclusion about the results of rent control: "[...] it appears to be the most efficient technique prensently known to destroy a city — except from bombing". 

South African The Citizen writes that "SA is over-governed and mis-governed, with just 49 of the 263 municipalities receiving clean audits". The author refers to research by Andreas Bergh and Magnus Henrekson, IFN: "[...] in a study of the relationship between the size of government and economic growth, found that big government is not necessarily opposed to growth. It depends on how government spends its money".

 The welfare state is the theme in this article by The Economist. The magazine is refering to research by IFN faculry: "Spending on “social protection” (pensions, benefits and the like) in the OECD club of countries has increased from 5% in the 1960s to 15% in 1980 to 21% in 2016. In a paper published in 2011, two economists, Andreas Bergh and Magnus Henrekson, estimated that a ten-percentage-point increase in the size of the state in rich countries is associated with a fall in the annual rate of GDP growth of 0.5 to one percentage point."

Australian Mirage News writes about research by Yves Zenou, Monash Business School  and affiliated to IFN. "A worldwide expert on network economics [Zenou] established the ‘Key Player’ theory – networks developed from direct interactions between two people and the interconnected links between their friends – which he demonstrated could reduce crime in Sweden by up to 30%."

In an interview in Stanford Business Petra Persson, Stanford University and affiliated to IFN,  explains that the health insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could unravel because enrollees strategically drop in and out of coverage. "The end result could be a complete undermining of the market", says Petra Persson.

Stanford Medical Center Report highlights research showing a causal link between fetal stress exposure and mental health later in life. One of the researchers is Petra Persson, affiliated to IFN, and the data in the study are Swedish: “Our study offers complementary evidence linking early-life circumstance to adult mental health, but breaks new ground by focusing on stress, which may be more pertinent than malnutrition in modern developed countries such as the United States and Sweden, and by tracing health outcomes throughout the time period between the fetal shock and adulthood.”

Before its news quotes Assar Lindbeck, IFN and Stockholm University, explaining that “in many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city – except for bombing.” "He’s right on target", the writer argues, "given that rent control destroys housing markets because it takes away the incentive to build new apartments, reduces the willingness of landlords to upgrade and maintain their properties, and encourages tenants to squat indefinitely in their below-market units".

Pay Scale writes that "a new study from Swedish researchers Olle Folke and Johanna Rickne [affiliated to IFN) "found correlations between women getting promoted to the top job in their fields and incidents of divorce". Pay Scale notes that "a top promotion can actually double a woman’s chance of divorce".