As part of its ongoing research on the economic consequences of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE) has presented a new report to Sweden’s Minister of Finance. The report provides updated insights into the growing imbalances in the Russian war economy and the financial challenges the government faces in sustaining its current level of military spending.

Finnish politicians are on average more intelligent, motivated, and honest than the general population. Jaakko Meriläinen, Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics at SSE, and co-authors show in a new study that both local and national politicians demonstrate higher cognitive and non-cognitive abilities, suggesting that voters and parties effectively select capable leaders.

Today is the International Day of Happiness, a UN initiative to highlight the importance of well-being. It’s also the day the World Happiness Report is released – the global ranking of the happiest countries. And once again, Sweden holds its place at the top, securing fourth place out of 147 nations, just behind our Nordic neighbors Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. But what does this ranking actually mean for Swedes? And why is it something to celebrate?

Johanna Wallenius, Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics at SSE, has been appointed member of the Finnish Economic Policy Council. The appointment starts beginning of April, 2025.

SSE researchers Anna Dreber and Magnus Johannesson, together with PhD Student Yifan Yang, have been honored with the 2024 Best Article Award from the journal Economic Inquiry. Their study has been recognized for its significant contribution to the field of economics and research transparency.

In the annual thesis competition organized by the Swedish Competition Authority, students from the Department of Economics at SSE were recognized for their work. The first prize in the economics category was awarded to Agnes Erlandsson and Erik Leiditz Thorsson for their thesis on declining firm markups in Sweden. Meanwhile, Marcus Hagman, also from the Department of Economics at SSE, received the second prize for his thesis on collusion and price transmission in the German retail gasoline market.

A new large-scale replication project of online social science experiments showed a replication rate of about 50%. Anna Dreber Almenberg and Magnus Johannesson, Professors at the Department of Economics at SSE, and co-authors publish a new article in Nature Human Behaviour.

New research from Lars Ljungqvist, Professor at the Department of Economics at SSE, and co-authors show that tax reforms impact singles and couples differently. The study finds that earned income tax credits (EITC) are more effective than negative income tax (NIT) policies in supporting lower-income people when their primary labor supply decisions are made at the extensive margin, i.e., whether or not to work. It highlights how tax incentives influence career choices, savings, and social welfare.

Department of Economics is proud to present its recent PhD graduates. Five PhD students have successfully defended their theses between June and September, 2024. We congratulate all five of them on this momentous achievement. Congratulations!

The Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE) and the Forum for Research on Eastern Europe: Climate and Environment (FREECE) invites paper submissions to a one-day workshop on the 'The Next Era of Climate Policies: Alternatives to Carbon Pricing' on November 25, 2024, in Stockholm.