November Blog

Economics is not an exact science. This is the one thing that is clear during these times of economic upheaval. There are no rules and the so-called experts sound more and more like hollow weathermen in denial.

Indeed Christopher Sims and Thomas Sargent, who won this year’s Nobel Prize for Economics, have no easy answers on how Europe should solve its debt crisis, neither do they have a magic bullet for solving the U.S. economy’s woes.

The economics prize, officially called the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was not part of the original group of awards set out in the dynamite tycoon's 1895 will.

The prize was established by the Bank of Sweden in 1968 in celebration of its 300th anniversary. The Nobel Foundation receives a fee from the Riksbank to administer the prize and include it on the Nobelprize.org site. The economics prize is the only non-Nobel prize to be awarded with the same pomp and circumstance as the regular Nobel prizes. And one can really ask why?

Alfred Nobel (page16) was an inventor, chemist, engineer and above all realist. He dabbled in philosophy and literature and held surprisingly radical political views. He hated lawyers and joked that "humbug" was the second biggest industry of his age.

I don’t think that Alfred Nobel would have been delighted to know that an economics prize is handed out in his name. As a scientist he wanted there to be prizes in physics, chemistry and medicine, while the prizes in literature and peace are a reflection of his philosophical and idealistic sides. Economics does not quite fit in.

Alfred Nobel’s great-grandnephew, the civil rights lawyer Peter Nobel, has, on behalf of his family, objected to the prize being associated with the Nobel Prizes.

In his speech at the 1974 Nobel Banquet, even the winner Friedrich Hayek stated that if he had been consulted on the establishment of a Nobel Prize in economics he would "have decidedly advised against it” primarily because "the Nobel Prize confers on an individual an authority which in economics no man ought to possess... This does not matter in the natural sciences. Here the influence exercised by an individual is chiefly an influence on his fellow experts; and they will soon cut him down to size if he exceeds his competence. But the influence of the economist that mainly matters is an influence over laymen: politicians, journalists, civil servants and the public generally."

After other controversies the economics prize was redefined in 1995 as a prize in social science, open also to political scientists, psychologists, and sociology researchers.

I feel that it is now time for the Nobel Foundation to cut the economics prize lose, before it damages the Nobel Prize itself.

October Blog

Fall is upon us and soon Sweden will become a dark place where kids in many parts of the country will go to school in the dark and not be back home until after the sun has set.

The long days of barbecues and socializing outdoors are over for a while and it is time to hunker down for the dark season with plans of spending cozy evenings at home, or partaking of all the cultural activities that restart after the summer hiatus.

Swedes are used to the seasonal change and even look forward to fall but for people from abroad, the dark season in Sweden can feel very inhospitable.

So I was very happy to read about Scan-dinavia's first Global Expat Centre (Oden-gatan 62, globalexpatpartners.com) that has opened in Stockholm and provides all sorts of support to make the stay of diplomats and business people, and above all their spouses, much more pleasant.

Between 12 and 20 percent of all international assignments fail and this is largely due to partner dissatisfaction. The "Stock-holm Model", developed by a Dutch spouse with an HR background, could go a long way to alleviate this problem.

The four pillars of Claudia de Leeuw's programme are Integration and Cultural Awareness, Language Training, Spouse Support and Social Network. When I read about the activities, that range from Parent and Toddler to Adult Cooking Classes, an International Breakfast Club and Happy Hours Mingling, it strikes me that this is a little like what we are doing in all our Swedish American organizations. Just like the Expat Centre we offer activities and “a place to go to”.

The Expat Centre is non-profit and run primarily by volunteers. It is sponsored by the embassies, a lot of companies and the Stockholm Business Region Development that wants to make the capital of Sweden a more attractive place for foreign workers.

A full membership for a family costs SEK 10 000 and this includes individual language courses and all activities.

The high fees, although mostly paid by employers, are a good reminder of how in-expensive Swedish American organizations and facilities are for us “cultural expats”!