Keynesian economics and the Oslo School

The economic crisis of the 1930’s hit Norway when Ragnar Frisch returned from the US to accept a professorship at University of Oslo. On his return he wrote newspaper articles proposing tax relief and monetary policies to fight the economic crisis. Frisch abandoned his monetary policies and developed his Oslo School emphasising mathematical models, econometrics, national accounts, and detailed state governance. For the next four decades this School dominated economic policy in Norway where market forces had been substituted with administrative decision making. Keynes, with his General Theory, pointed out that a market economy with an active government can secure full employment. When the ideas of the Oslo School were challenged at the end of the 1970’s, by academics and through the poor performance of the economy, it collapsed. A decentralised market economy was reintroduced and The Keynesian paradigm emerged as the preferred theory compared to the approach of the Oslo School.

The Rise and Fall of the Oslo School

In 1931 Ragnar Frisch became professor at the University of Oslo. By way of his research, a new study programme and new staff he created the ”Oslo School”, characterised by mathematical modelling, econometrics, economic planning and scepticism towards the market economy. Consequently, detailed state economic planning and governance dominated Norwegian economic policy for three decades after WWII. In the 1970s the School’s dominance came to an end when the belief in competitive markets gained a foothold and the economy had poor performance. As a result a decentralized market economy was reintroduced. However, mathematical modelling and econometrics remain in the core of most economic programmes.

Differences in coaching feedback between coaches of junior elite soccer players and junior amateur soccer players

The verbal feedback given to junior soccer players potentially heading to a professional career is essential for technical and tactical skill development. The aim of this study is to examine whether differences exist in feedback between coaches of junior elite soccer teams and coaches of junior amateur soccer teams. The coaches of a junior elite soccer team and a junior amateur soccer team in Norway were observed and filmed during eight training sessions. Our measurements of verbal feedback (537 observations) were categorised based on frequency, valence, direction and timing. No differences in the number of feedback sequences or timing of feedback were detected. However, the coaches of junior elite soccer players spent more time providing feedback and gave more individual feedback, and their feedback was more positive, concrete and reflective than that of the coaches of the junior amateur soccer players.publishedVersio

Ragnar Frisch and the postwar Norwegian economy

Published version of an article in the journal: Econ Journal Watch. Also available from the publisher at: http://econjwatch.org/articles/ragnar-frisch-and-the-norwegian-postwar-economy. Open AccessIn the story of Norwegian economics, and of Norwegian economic policy and performance during the postwar years, a central place must be given to Ragnar Frisch (1895-1973). In 1969 he was awarded the first Nobel Prize in economics, together with Jan Tinbergen (1903-1994). In our view, the brighter parts of the story come only in the later years, and they involve the overcoming of Frisch's influence and legacy. As professor, Frisch started a grand project to establish economics as a science based on mathematical models and quantitative analysis, creating what became known as the "Oslo School." This school contributed to the development of a system of economic planning that became close to the centrally planned economies of Eastern Europe. The Norwegian postwar planned economy managed in the first three decades to achieve growth rates on par with the other countries in Western Europe. Growth was achieved, however, partly through investment ratios that were significantly higher than that of other countries; as a consequence, both private and public consumption rates were substantially lower. At the end of the 1970s the inefficiency of the planned economy impelled a change. Reform moved Norway toward a more decentralized market economy, where markets would be governed through a framework of general laws, taxes, and levies. The grand vision of Ragnar Frisch had dissolved

A reply to Olav Bjerkholt on the postwar Norwegian economy

Published version of an article in the journal: Econ Journal Watch. Also available from the publisher at: http://econjwatch.org/articles/a-reply-to-olav-bjerkholt-on-the-postwar-norwegian-economy Open AccessProfessor Olav Bjerkholt has provided a spirited critique of our 2014 article titled “Ragnar Frisch and the Postwar Norwegian Economy.” Here we reply briefly, noting that many of the quotations he provides actually support our interpretation, that it is naïve of him to play the ideology card, and that he offers no response whatsoever to our central point: that Norway’s postwar growth rates have to be understood in light of the country’s exceptionally high investment ratios, which meant that Norwegian consumers were consuming less in order to sustain those growth rates

Controlling for P-value inflation in allele frequency change in experimental evolution and artificial selection experiments

acceptedVersio

Samuel Pufendorf and Ludvig Holberg on Political Economy

My interest in the history of economic thought goes several decades back. My studies in the Dano-Norwegian history of economic thought brought me to Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754). As many of you are aware of Holberg is known in the Nordic countries as a writer of comedies, an important representative of the Nordic Enlightenment and a creator of modern Dano-Norwegian letters. Only rarely is he known as an historian, jurist or political economist. My investigation into Holberg’s writings on political economy brought me to his Naturens og Folkerettens Kundskab (The Knowledge of Natural and International law). This book has substantial tracts of political economy. On the cover of the first edition from 1715 it says, “drawn from the works of the most distinguished jurists, in particular Grotius, Pufendorf and Thomasius”. It turned out that Samuel Pufendorf (1632-94) was his primary source. However, I had not heard the name and neither had my colleagues. The aim of this presentation is first to briefly outline Pufendorf’s contribution to natural law and political economy, the diffusion of his ideas and the influence he had on his successors. Thereafter to give a presentation of Holberg’s life, his discovery of Pufendorf and how he used his ideas in his own writings on both history and political economy. Finally, to discuss Holberg as a political economist and his influence on the development of political economy in Denmark-Norway