The Ratio Institute: Research with a longterm impact

1
The Ratio Institute Research with a long-term
impact

• Niclas Berggren
• Associate Professor of Economics, Vice President

2
What is Ratio?

• A private and independent research institute in
  Stockholm, Sweden
  
• Research in three areas
• Entrepreneurship, the market economy and growth
• The conditions for enterprise laws, rules and
  values
  
• How political change is achieved

3
Research profile

• Research that is relevant for economic
  policymaking and economic development and lacking
  elsewhere
  

4
Lack of relevant research elsewhere

• Working papers in economics in Sweden 2000- 2004
  (953 in total) that contain certain concepts

5
Why a research institute?

• Research has special potential to affect policy
  in the long run through its credibility and,
  thereby, influence on academics, intellectuals
  and decision-makers
• Hayek and asked me what he could do to thwart
  the ominous growth of socialism. I had
  considerable trouble persuading him that mass
  propaganda was futile and that the task consisted
  rather of convincing intellectuals.
• Keynes The ideas of economists and political
  philosophers, both when they are right and when
  they are wrong, are more powerful than is
  commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by
  little else.

6
Motivation for founding Ratio

• Research with Ratios profile is largely lacking
  in Sweden ? knowledge about entrepreneurship and
  institutions is often missing for decision-makers
  in politics and business ? bad decisions
• A prerequisite for a free society is that there
  are centers where knowledge is produced that are
  independent of the central direction of the
  government

7
Some facts

• Founded in 2002 by Dr. Nils Karlson, Dr. Niclas
  Berggren and Dr. Dan Johansson
  
• People today
• 11 fellows with a doctoral degree
• 14 associate fellows (active researchers
  elsewhere)
  
• 50-60 temporary collaborators (active researchers
  elsewhere)
  

8
The people at Ratio

Associate Professor Niclas Berggren, Vice
President
Associate Professor Nils Karlson, President
Dr. Dan Johansson, Vice President
Dr. Gissur Erlingsson
Dr. Kristina Nyström
Dr. Henrik Lindberg
Dr. Mikael Stenkula
Dr. Andreas Bergh
Professor Almas Heshmati
Dr. Marcus Box
Dr. Åsa Hansson
9
Budget

• Budget of 1.5 million
• Financers
• Swedish Free Enterprise Foundation (30 ) basic
  grant
  
• Research foundations (65 ) applications for
  research projects in competition with other
  researchers
  
• Members (5 ) contribute less in money but more
  in support
  

10
Arguments for funding

• Relevant research with an ability to affect
  policy and economic development
  
• Scientific critieria of quality
• Broader publication and participation in public
  debates as well
  
• Board with entrepreneurs and scientific advisory
  board
  
• Combine funding from business with funding from
  research foundations
  
• Combine academic disciplines
• Networks make use of good colleagues who are
  spread out at regular universities

11
Ratios activities

• Publications
• Articles in scientific journals (14 in 2006)
• Articles in popular-science journals
• Working papers
• Books
• Media (newspapers, radio, tv, internet)
• Seminars
• Conferences
• Advising undergraduate and graduate students
• Meetings with politicians and civil servants

12
Research projects

• Markets, Morality, Trust and Growth
• Institutional Competition and the Outcomes of
  Politics
  
• The Government and the Labor Market
• Family Enterprise, Taxation of Owners and
  Economic Development
  
• Economic Freedom and Growth
• The Swedish Model

13
Example Free to trust by Berggren and Jordahl
in Kyklos
The idea is that a market economy, building on
voluntary transactions and interactions with both
friends and strangers within the predictability
provided by the rule of law, entails both
incentives and mechanisms for trust to emerge
between people.
14
Read more at

• www.ratio.se/eng