Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy?

Liknande innehåll

Publiceringsår

2026

Publicerat i

Ratio Working Paper Series.

Sammanfattning

Populism thrives on discontent. It could be anything from migration and xenophobia to globalization and welfare failures. Populists deliberately use such discontent to promote polarization by demonizing opponents and attacking media, established elites, courts etc. in the name of the “true people”. As a consequence, democracy, the rule of law, and sound social and economic policies are undermined, with long-term disastrous effects. In many cases, however, the original discontent is caused by real policy failures that have not been properly solved. A major strategy for fighting back at the populist threats therefore must be to improve policy. This paper focuses on the policy failures of welfare states, a major source of discontent in many democracies. I argue that the concept of welfare has been captured and misinterpreted into government assistance programs, a presumption that needs to be abandoned and replaced by interpreting welfare as human flourishing, something that primarily can be promoted within markets and civil society, supported by a small, limited, and decent state.

Artikel (med peer review)

Competition and Voice in Public Education: Evidence from Sweden

Sebhatu, A., Wennberg, K., Lakomaa, E., & Brandén, M.

Publiceringsår

2026

Publicerat i

Education Finance and Policy, 1-40

Sammanfattning

While numerous studies examine the effects of school competition on student performance, little research directly addresses a key critique of competition: its potential to negatively affect parental engagement and voice. We draw on Hirschman’s theory of voice to argue that voucher-based school competition increases opportunities for exit but may crowd out voice. To assess the causal effects of competition on parental voice, we employ a robust two-way fixed effects difference-in-differences framework, comparing municipalities in Sweden that introduced competition with those that did not. Our findings indicate that school complaints decline following the introduction of competition. This decrease in voice is driven by neither a decrease in problems in school nor by changes in teaching staff quality or attrition. This suggests that the decrease in complaints is driven not by an increase in school quality but rather by a substitution from voice to exit.

Artikel (med peer review)

Insider activism in the forest industry: An emerging phenomenon?

Grafström, J., & Karlson, N.

Publiceringsår

2026

Publicerat i

Forest Policy and Economics, 185, 103732

Sammanfattning

Insider activism refers to situations where public officials use administrative discretion to advance personal or ideological preferences. Although the concept has received increasing attention in organizational and political science research, empirical evidence remains limited. This research note examines whether insider activism may influence regulatory practice in the Swedish forestry sector and how perceived enforcement uncertainty affects forest owners’ behavior. A survey of forest owner representatives in southern Sweden indicates low trust in regulatory objectivity and weak perceptions of legal security. Many respondents report experiences of officials acting beyond their formal mandate. The findings suggest that perceived activism-driven uncertainty encourages defensive strategies among forest owners, including early harvesting and reduced willingness to report environmental values.

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Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy?

Sammanfattning

Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy?

Sammanfattning

Detaljer

Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy? Academic Webinar at Institute of Economic Affairs

Wennberg & Sandström discuss Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy at the Institute of Economic Affairs

Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy?

Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy?

Sammanfattning

Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy?

Sammanfattning

Detaljer

Relaterat

Karl Wennberg

Nils Karlson

Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy? Academic Webinar at Institute of Economic Affairs

Wennberg & Sandström discuss Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy at the Institute of Economic Affairs

Bureaucrats or Markets in Innovation Policy?