Scholarly Comments on Academic Economics

In Sweden, Anti-Globalizationists Dominate Public Discourse, Econ Profs Do Little

by ,

*Per Skedinger* received his Ph.D. from Uppsala University in 1991, and since 1993 he has been a research fellow at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IUI) in Stockholm. His empirically-oriented research deals with effects of economic policie
*Dan Johansson* received his Ph.D. from the Royal Institute of Technology in 2001. Since 2002 he has been a research fellow at the Ratio Institute in Stockholm. His research mainly deals with the role of entrepreneurs, the importance of new and small firm

Abstract

In recent years, globalization and its consequences have become hotly debated issues. In Europe, non-governmental organizations like Attac have argued that free trade and free capital movements favor large corporations and rich countries, while poor countries are treated unfairly. These ideas have gained wide-spread attention in the media. But globalization is also a large research area in economics, so there is a golden opportunity for economists to disseminate their knowledge to the interested public. In this article, we investigate to what extent Swedish professors, with publications in the relevant fields of research, actually take part in the public discourse on globalization. We find that the professors are virtually absent in the debate and we discuss possible causes and consequences of this inactivity.

in Economics in Practice

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Volume (Issue)
1(1)
Pages
175-184
Published
JEL classification
A11, A14, F02
Keywords
role of economists, globalization
Article PDF Downloads
3647 (updated 31 Dec 2011)

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