Embedded Files
Rapports
"How do opening hours affect revenue in the nightlife industry? "
SIRUS Rapport med Hans Olav Melberg
English summary: Report for the Norwegian Drug and Alcohol Research Unit (SIRUS now FHI).
Norwegian municipalities can set their own bar opening hours within the national maximum allowed limit of 3:00 a.m. This study estimates the effect of bar opening hours on bar revenue by using municipal variations in bar revenue and opening hours between 2000 and 2010. Based on data from 220 firms in the industry, we find that a one-hour reduction in opening times was associated with between 9 and 12 percent reduction in revenues for pubs and bars. The results were statistically significant for bar revenue, but less so for average per capita turnover in the industry in a sample of municipalities.
Commentary in professional journals
"Should Norway’s Climate Policy Facilitate the Reindustrialization of Western Democracies?"
Commentary Samfunnsøkonomen: a Norwegian professional journal that disseminates economic research and current policy analysis in the field of economics.
Abstract: Strict environmental regulations in Western countries have successfully raised energy costs in order to reduce global CO₂ emissions. An important, yet partly unintended, consequence of this policy is that it also undermines the competitiveness of Western industry. Because regulatory standards and enforcement are significantly stricter in the West than among many trading partners, Western firms face systematically higher production costs. A genuine policy alternative to the current approach, which effectively encourages reduced energy use through higher taxation and stricter regulation, is to actively facilitate the reshoring of industrial production to Western democracies.
"Vri skatt fra arbeid til arv."
Debattinnlegg i Minerva med Runar Bjørkvik Mæland, 20.04.2021
English summary: Opinion piece on inheritance tax in the Norwegian right-wing periodical Minerva.
Norway currently has no tax on inheritance while having a progressive income tax. This opinion piece argues that from a libertarian perspective, such as Nozick or Dworkin, this is unfair. We argue that this libertarian view is in line with people's notions of fairness observed in economic experiments. We argue in favor of a tax scheme with low inheritance tax on large estates and no tax on estates under 10 million NOK. The increase in the state's tax revenues from the tax should be offset by reductions in wage taxes to avoid growth in the Norwegian public sector and to make the proposal distribution neutral.
Popular press as an academic
Innlegg i Dagens Næringsliv, 30.03.22
"Et "politisk økonomi-perspektiv" kan hjelpe oss å løse flokene på strømmarkedet."
Innlegg i Dagens Næringsliv, 10.04.22
"Norway Needs Market Mechanisms that Separate the Price of Hydropower for Domestic versus Export Use."
"A Political Economy Approach Can Help Untangle the Problems in the Power Market."
English summary: Two Opinion pieces. One suggests a new market mechanism for the Norwegian electricity market and one explains the political economy reasoning behind the mechanism.
Both are published in Norway`s third-largest newspaper, Dagens Næringsliv.
Norwegian electricity production is mainly hydroelectric with low production cost. Norway has a substantial net yearly export of electricity and interconnections with the European grid come with potential large efficiency benefits by enabling smoothing of daily consumption variation. Under the current market system, interconnection also drives up domestic prices. This reduces the political support for these projects. An additional factor putting pressure on the present market design is the Norwegian state's ambition to increase its electricity production from sources like wind and gas. As these sources have production prices above the production cost of hydroelectric, this new production is reliant on further interconnection with the European power grid to be profitable. A separation of the domestic and export markets is a possible solution giving Norwegian policymakers the ability to pursue both goals of lowering domestic prices while increasing electricity production from higher-cost sources. The newspaper piece proposes a novel market design for hydroelectric producers in Norway to archive these goals and points to some factors determining the policy's desirability.
"JD Vance på riktig side av historien" iNyheter 21. April 2025
The article discusses JD Vance's speech at the Munich Security Conference in relation to Ben Shapiro’s book The Right Side of History. The article argues that the success of Western civilization is built on the balance between freedom of belief and objective truth. It supports JD Vance’s message and places his speech within a broader historical context.
Outreach talk
"Why the west got rich and the Middle East did not; The historical relationship between Political and economic legitimacy"
1:30 Minutes talk for FAKS, Conservative Students Union of Tromsø 14. March on economic history based on Professor Jared Rubin's book by the same name.
Popular press as member of political parties
"That the next generation exists is more important than the effect they have on the environment."
Nordlys 25. June 2026
The author argues that strict environmental and zero-growth regulations in Norwegian cities, particularly in Tromsø and Northern Norway, are making housing unaffordable for young families and contributing to declining birth rates. While acknowledging the importance of environmental protection, the piece contends that preventing the next generation from being born — by blocking new family-friendly housing — is far more damaging than the future environmental footprint those children might have. The author calls for exceptions in urban growth agreements to prioritize housing projects aimed at families with children, emphasizing that a sustainable society ultimately requires people to inhabit it.
"Handel og samarbeid trenger ikke bety overføring av politisk makt"
"Trade and Cooperation Should Not Require Giving Up Political Power"
Debattinlegg i Bergens Tidene med Reidar Digarness
English summary: Opinion piece arguing that trade and cooperation do not need to imply a transfer of political power. The article goes on to argue that Norway should develop a modern and open economy outside of the EU.
"Er det god klimapolitikk å kutte i lønnsom oljeproduksjon?"Debattinnlegg i Nationen 30.09.21, med Knut Olav Alhaug
"Inntekter fra olje og gass kan brukes til å utvikle miljøvennlig teknologi" i Nordlys
26.10.2021
English summary: Opinion pieces arguing that Norway should keep extracting oil and natural gas and use the surplus for the development of new climate-friendly technology.
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