Swedish Economists

12 September 2006 at 4:55 pm Peter G. Klein Leave a comment

| Peter Klein |

When Sweden was hit by a deep economic crisis in the fall of 1992 and was forced to abandon the pegged exchange rate, the government appointed a commission of primarily university economists under the chairmanship of Assar Lindbeck, the most well-known economist in the country at the time. The commission was assigned to present an analysis of the problems facing Sweden. Appearing in March 1993, the report had a major impact in the media and in public debate. Several of its 113 proposals eventually served as a source of inspiration for political action.

This event illustrates the strong position of the economics profession in Swedish society -— no historians, philosophers, management consultants or former political leaders were considered for this task, as may have been the case in other countries. Economists play a prominent role in public debate in Sweden, many appear on radio and television, write for the daily press, magazines and books, and serve as experts on government inquiries and commissions. In Sweden, economists probably have more influence than any other category of social scientists.

This is from “Knut Wicksell, Gustav Cassel, Eli Heckscher, Bertil Ohlin and Gunnar Myrdal on the Role of the Economist in Public Debate” by Benny Carlson and Lars Jonung in the September 2006 issue of EconJournalWatch. Can any of our Nordic readers explain why Swedish economists have so much influence? (And if so, why the Swedish economy isn’t in better shape?)

N.B.: Also recommended, from the same issue of EconJournalWatch, is the exchange between Robert Lawson and critics on the use of the Gwartney et al. Economic Freedom Index.