Welcome!
Welcome!
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I am a PhD candidate in Economics at Lund University, specializing in political economy, economic development, and economic history. My current research focuses on how beliefs and ideas such as nationalism shape the historical trajectories of societies. I will be on the 2025/2026 academic job market.
I hold a M.Sc. in Economics (2020) and a M.Sc. in Economic and Social History (2019), both from University of Helsinki.
You can contact me at teppo.lindfors@nek.lu.se.
Working Papers
Working Papers
Job market paper
Job market paper
How do revolutions take hold? This paper investigates how a sudden shift in collective sentiment, triggered by the 1917 Russian Revolution, drove Finland into civil war. This change was made possible by two key factors: the sudden end of imperial censorship and the diffusion of revolutionary ideas from St Petersburg. Analyzing millions of newspaper articles, I show that the removal of media restrictions, combined with the echoes of the Bolshevik revolution, led to a sharp rise in public opposition. Employing difference-in-differences and spatial regression discontinuity designs, I demonstrate that this transformation in public discourse played a critical role in mobilizing the Finnish population into an armed rebellion within ten months. Drawing on newly digitized interrogation records from 46,146 rebels, I find that participation was primarily driven by shifting beliefs about the likelihood of revolutionary success and reinforced by peer influence—over 40% of rebels cited social pressure, coercion, or communal expectations as key motivations. At the same time, government repression had a strong demobilizing effect, with public opposition unable to offset its impact, suggesting that while belief shifts can spark rebellion, they are insufficient to sustain it. These results underscore the role of information shocks and social contagion in triggering collective action, revealing how quickly political stability can unravel when suppressed grievances meet a unifying narrative.
Elite Incentives and Nation-Building: Evidence from the Fennoman Movement
Elite Incentives and Nation-Building: Evidence from the Fennoman Movement
This paper explores the political economy of national awakening in 19th-century Finland, focusing on the role of Swedish-speaking elites following Finland's transition from Swedish to Russian rule. We examine why these Swedish-speaking elites, many of whom did not speak Finnish, formed a significant Fennoman movement aimed at elevating Finnish culture and identity. We further explore how this movement influenced later political development. Using newly collected datasets, we document four principal results. (i) More central elites, who had the most to lose in terms of status, were the most invested in nation-building. (ii) Fennoman elite families benefited directly from nation-building, securing powerful positions in the political system. (iii) Elite-driven nation-building fostered a wider national awakening among non-elites. (iv) The national awakening had the unintended consequence of promoting increased demand for democracy leading to strikes and protests. We present a conceptual framework to guide our empirical analysis. Our study offers insights into the causes and consequences of nation-building.
Basque
Basque
This paper investigates the effects of the Basque language reform on language proficiency and ethnic identity in Spain, drawing on regional differences in policy implementation and an extensive dataset covering multiple census and survey waves (1986-2021). Our findings indicate that, while the reform significantly boosted Basque language proficiency among students in Basque-speaking schools, it did not increase Basque ethnic identity. We propose that this outcome stems from a reduction in Basque identity among outgroup members—students who did not attend Basque-speaking schools—due to increasing social segregation. As social circles became divided, with non-Basque-speaking students less likely to interact with children of Basque natives, identification with Basque culture diminished. These results offer insights into how nation-building efforts may inadvertently counter their intended effects and underscore the critical role of integrated childhood environments in shaping cultural identity.
CV
CV
You can find my CV here.
Teaching
Teaching
Master's level
Applied International Macroeconomics (Lecturer; Lund University)
Advanced Microeconomic Analysis (TA; Lund University)
Quantitative Methods for Master Students (TA; University of Helsinki)
Undergraduate level
Development Economics (TA; Lund University)
Introductory Macroeconomics (TA; Lund University)
Quantitative Methods for Undergraduate Students (TA; University of Helsinki)
Contact
Contact
Email: teppo.lindfors@nek.lu.se
Postal address:
Lund UniversityDepartment of EconomicsTycho Brahes väg 1, 223 62 Lund, SwedenRoom EC1:262Page updated
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