Discrimination and disadvantage in society
Discrimination violates the fundamental human right to equal treatment. It poses a threat to social cohesion and leads to people becoming marginalized. To combat discrimination, we must understand its extent, the forms it takes, and how best to counteract it. This knowledge is accumulated and analyzed by researchers in applied microeconomics. Studies are conducted in areas such as the labor market and housing market, focusing primarily on the grounds of discrimination such as gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. We document differential treatment, identify knowledge gaps, and work on proposals to improve efforts against discrimination. This knowledge is then disseminated through lectures and publications to decision-makers, companies, and authorities working on issues of discrimination and diversity.
International trade and business
In recent decades, there has been rapid internationalization in most countries concerning trade in goods and services, foreign ownership, and international direct investments. This has created both threats and opportunities for companies in the international market: increased opportunities for export and to locate production in countries with relatively low wages, but also increased competition from new actors with potentially low production costs. We quantitatively analyze how the business sector has responded to these changing conditions. For instance, we study establishment, investment decisions, workforce sizing, and relocation of production, analyzing how the business sector has reacted to these changes.
Individual characteristics and labor market outcomes
One of the national and international challenges is to determine why differences in economic well-being exist among various socio-economic groups and generally tend to increase. Researchers in applied microeconomics conduct research on the importance of individual characteristics such as health, education, and foreign background for different labor market outcomes.
Research on this topic has both short-term and long-term perspectives and addresses, among other things, how socio-economic factors such as education and family background affect income. We also study the relationship between labor market outcomes and individual characteristics related to health factors and crime. Our work supports scientific research on socio-economic differences and labor market outcomes and is relevant to policy-related issues.
