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Absolute income mobility and the effect of parent generation inequality: An extended decomposition approach
Liss, E., Korpi, M., & Wennberg, K.
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Publications

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  • Publications

Selected publication

No evidence of counteracting policy effects on European solar power invention and diffusion
Grafström, J., & Poudineh, R.
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Swedish flag iconSV

About

  • About us

    • About
    • Contact us

  • Media

    • News archive

  • Cooperations

    • Eli F. Heckscher Lectures

Research

  • Areas

    • Labour Market Research
    • Competitiveness Research
    • Climate and Environmental Research

  • Ongoing research

    • Working Paper Series
  • People

    • Publications

    • Publications

      • Publications

    Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy?

    PublicationBook
    Christian Sandström, Financing of Innovations, Innovation, Innovationspolitik, Karl Wennberg, Nils Karlson
    Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation
    Download

    Abstract

    How can innovation best be promoted? Based on a major interdisciplinary research program
    with a special focus on Sweden, paired with international research, this book shows that targeted
    interventions and firm subsidies do not have the intended effects but instead creates policy failures,
    government waste and rent-seeking.

    Instead, innovation policy should focus on supplying the right competencies and on improving the
    institutions of the market economy and the general
    conditions for enterprise.

    Markets rather than bureaucrats are decisive for
    innovation, industrial development and growth.

    Sandström, C., Wennberg, K. & Karlson, N. (2019). Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy? Stockholm: Ratio.

    Details

    Author

    Sandström, C., Wennberg, K. & Karlson, N.

    Publication year

    2019

    Published in

    Stockholm: Ratio

    Related

    Karl Wennberg
    Professor

    +46705105366

    karl.wennberg@ratio.se

    Nils Karlson
    Professor, Founder and former CEO

    +46708670351

    nils.karlson@ratio.se

    Similar content

    Qualitative Comparative Analysis in Entrepreneurship Research
    Article (with peer review)Publication
    Rönkkö, M., Maula, M., Wennberg, K.
    Download
    Publication year

    2025

    Published in

    Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (ETP)

    Abstract

    Configurational research has great promise in entrepreneurship. There are few universal laws or relationships that hold under all circumstances. More often, optimal entrepreneurial outcomes are contingent on many factors. Consequently, configurational analysis using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) has become increasingly popular. However, methodological research in sociology and political science has raised concerns about possible false positive findings produced by this method. In this editorial, we explore the potential and the common pitfalls of QCA in entrepreneurship research, as well as guidelines for its use.

    Working Paper No. 383 Insider activism in the forest industry: An empirical public choice analysis
    Working paperPublication
    Jonas Grafström & Nils Karlson
    Download
    Publication year

    2025

    Published in

    Ratio Working Paper Series

    Abstract

    Insider activism—where bureaucrats use discretionary power to advance own ideological goals—has significant implications for regulatory stability and property rights security. Using the Swedish forestry industry as a case study, the purpose of this study is to investigate if insider activism affects the Swedish forestry sector and how such possible regulatory uncertainty influences economic decision-making. Assembled survey data suggest that forest owners perceive regulatory enforcement as unpredictable, leading to defensive actions such as premature harvesting to preempt restrictive future regulations. To explain these patterns, we apply public choice theory and a game-theoretic approach, demonstrating how bureaucratic drift, regulatory ratcheting, and time-inconsistency problems contribute to persistent distortions in forestry policies. Policy wise, the findings emphasize the need for judicial review, regulatory impact assessments, and clearer legislative mandates to reduce enforcement uncertainty and improve institutional trust. This research advances discussions on bureaucratic incentives, regulatory capture, and legal certainty in environmental policy.

    Introducing the inverted Icarus paradox in business history – Evidence from David and Goliath in the Swedish telecommunications industry 1981–1990
    Article (with peer review)Publication
    Eriksson, K.; Lakomaa, E.; Nykvist, R.; Sandström, C.
    Publication year

    2024

    Published in

    Business History, Advance online publication.

    Abstract

    Previous research in business and management history has identified the Icarus paradox, which describes how organisations may fall due to overconfidence and hubris. We build upon previous research on paradoxes in business history and introduce the notion of an inverted Icarus paradox. Using rich archival sources coded in a relational database, we show how an entrant firm, Comvik, outmanoeuvred an established government monopoly in the non-market domain from 1980 to 1990, despite inferior resources and a weak market position. The government monopoly Televerket faced an inverted Icarus paradox; it could not leverage its strengths and political connections as they were stuck in a David versus Goliath narrative where public opinion was more sympathetic to the entrant firm Comvik.

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