News

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.

In early March, Andreas Bergh and Niclas Berggren, both IFN researchers, participated in the annual conference organized by the Public Choice Society, an academic association focused on political economy, founded in 1963 by, among others, Nobel Laureate James Buchanan. This year’s conference was held in Louisville, Kentucky.  In connection with the conference, Niclas Berggren was elected to the Executive Committee of the Society, which is responsible, among other things, for organizing the annual meetings. https://www.publicchoicesociety.org/about/

Lars Calmfors was invited to give a guest lecture for the Treasury, New Zealand, on March 18. The lecture is a part of the Treasury's Fiscal Policy for the Futures Series, and Lars's speech focused on Sweden's approach to a responsible fiscal policy.

Four students at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) participating in a study abroad program at the Copenhagen Business School visited IFN and Lars Calmfors on January 24 to discuss the Euro.

As part of this program, WashU Olin Business School students from various locations across Europe take part in the European Study Tour. Each group is assigned a topic related to a country within the EU. The specific topic for this group is why Sweden chose not to adopt the Euro. As part of the program, each student writes both a research paper and a research report on their assigned topic.

Fredrik Sjöholm is one of the members of the Danish Rockwool Foundation's new investment in research on productivity and competitiveness.  

With the new research unit, the Rockwool Foundation wants to contribute to long-term solutions to strengthen Europe's competitiveness and economic sustainability.

Erik Lundberg, Visiting PhD student at IFN and PhD student at Uppsala University, presented the paper "Permanent Residency Policy and Skilled Immigration: Evidence from a Swedish Reform" at the fourteenth edition of the conference series International Conference on Immigration in OECD Countries. The conference took place on 12-13 December in Boulogne Billancourt, France.    

Niclas Berggren, Associate Professor at IFN and Prague University of Economics and Business, is a new editorial board member of the Journal of Comparative Economics. 

Professor Lars Oxelheim, affiliated researcher at IFN, organized a concluding special plenary session on June 29 at the European Financial Management Association's (EFMA) 33rd Annual Conference in Lisbon on the theme of Sustainable Finance in an Age of Geopolitical and Economic Instability. The session attracted great interest at this prestigious conference, which brought together over 500 researchers from all over the world.

Since 2000, IFN has organized a yearly conference in Stockholm within areas of research of importance to IFN. This year, the research program Sustainable Energy Transition, led by Thomas Tangerås, held the conference. This research program focuses on increasing knowledge about the electricity market and its fundamental importance in achieving a sustainable energy transition.

At the meeting for the Nordic ministers for finance in Stockholm on June 3–4, Lars Calmfors participated in a lecture on economic crisis management and fiscal policy challenges in the Nordic countries. 

IFN organized a workshop at the Prague University of Economics and Business on May 23–26, 2024, within the research project “Cultures of Trust and Institutions of Freedom,” funded by the John Templeton Foundation. The workshop was organized by IFN researcher Niclas Berggren (affiliated with the Prague University of Economics and Business) and IFN-affiliated Christian Bjørnskov (Aarhus University).

Björn Tyrefors has received funding of SEK 1,700,000 for the research project "The First Long-Term Causal Evaluation of Unconditional Cash Transfers to Poor Families." The project investigates the effect of unconditional cash assistance on low-income earners and the impact of aid and assistance on children. 

Martin Ljunge has been awarded a grant of SEK 200,000 for a research visit abroad. Martin will be a visiting scholar at the University of Toronto, collaborating with Steven Riddiough on a project on immigrants' financial behavior. Martin has also been invited as a visiting scholar at Amherst College by Caroline Theoharides.

In a new bibliometric analysis of research on economic freedom, it emerges that IFN is one of the world's leading research centers in this area. It is primarily IFN researchers Niclas Berggren and Andreas Bergh, as well as Christian Bjørnskov, a Danish researcher affiliated with IFN, who have studied how the degree of market economy explains various important outcomes.

In this open-access book, Lars Oxelheim, one of the editors, and Fredrik Sjöholm, both IFN, together with the other authors, examine the implications for the EU of a radically changed international context characterized by systemic rivalry, competition over norms, and regulations, and growing strategic tension.

On April 26, Olga Lark defended her doctoral dissertation Globalization, Gender Inequality, and Firm Innovation at the Lund University School of Economics and Management. Olga has been affiliated with IFN during her time as a Ph.D. student.

Fredrik Sjöholm has been appointed member of the International Advisory Board of Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech).

Fredrik Sjöholm participated in the Asian Economic Panel's conference in Seoul on 19–20 March. The conference aims to discuss current issues of importance for Asia's economic development.

IFN arranged a policy seminar on March 7, 2024, entitled “Is the Market Economy Culturally Harmful?”. It featured the presentation of two studies from the research project “Cultures of Trust and Institutions of Freedom”, financed by the John Templeton Foundation. The studies have been carried out and were presented by Niclas Berggren, Associate Professor of Economics at IFN, and Christian Bjørnskov, Professor of Economics at Aarhus University and affiliated with IFN

Hans Grönqvist, Professor of Economics at Linnaeus University, has joined IFN as a researcher.

At a seminar at SNS on January 18, Lars Persson (chair), Karin Edmark, Pehr-Johan Norbäck, and Erik Prawitz presented the SNS Economic Policy Council Report 2024. They are all researchers at or affiliated with IFN.