Long Live Lundaekonomerna!
Several years ago, I got a phone call from someone who introduced herself as so and so and as being the vice president of the Lundaekonomerna. I was a bit surprised as I had very little to do with the union in those days. But she quickly put me straight. – I’m calling to you…
The Truth- A Paradox?
Alternative facts, alternative truths, post-truth, fake news; never before has it been so difficult to be certain about the truth. And never before, many of us argue, has it been so easy to obtain, analyse and interpret data. A paradox! Either way, the enlightened establishment, more than ever, feel an obligation to be careful and…
Wilhelm von Humboldt and Education
You might not have heard of Wilhelm von Humboldt, and you might not care. But his ideas about the governance of higher education have been on the topical agenda on and off for more than 200 years. von Humboldt was something of a renaissance man. A linguist by trade, but otherwise a ubiquitous figure in…
The Future of Driving (or not Driving)
Now it’s just a matter of time until we’ll be travelling around in true auto-mobiles, cars that are capable of moving around themselves – not only without horses but also without the active driver. Autonomous driving is here to stay. Many cities and countries around the world are experimenting with new systems, there are test…
The Achievements of Jan Wallander
To be honest, the achievements of organisations are often down to quite basic stuff: a good idea, hard work and a lot of luck. We may suggest analytical tools all we want but often the list of factors explaining real empirical success will include rather basic stuff. It is therefore we get so delighted whenever…
Mirror Mirror on the Wall
At the time of writing there is still a couple of weeks until the US election and now it seems clear Clinton will win. But phew, that was a close call. There is still some >40% of the Americans that prefer Trump. How come such backward values became so embraced by so many? When Jeb Bush…
Inspector’s Page: Who is to blame?
There is a debate again regarding business schools and what kind of students we educate. Recently in Dagens Nyheter, Mikael Holmqvist suggested that, primarily, business schools carry a significant burden of responsibility for, for example, the “Panama scandal”. According to Holmqvist, business schools foster students into a financial elite who may well obey laws but,…
Inspector’s Page: Sweden’s accomodation problem
All estimations indicate that Sweden is about to embark on a journey of sustained periods of investments in residential housing. Sweden is about to become a state of 10 million inhabitants by 2017, and continues to grow; the number of 20-24 year olds is increasing. But while the investment in construction has been hovering around…
Inspector’s Page: The Future of Cars
By now, you have surely heard or read about the hyped phenomenon of autonomous drive, or self-driving vehicles. Recent advancements in autonomous drive technologies signal that we are on the verge of a new paradigm within the transportation of people. You might also have heard about the “internet of things”, meaning that objects are being…
Inspector’s Page: Time of Terror
So many people have suffered this autumn, and so few have done anything really effective to help. There have been worse times in history, but it has been a while since leadership was so needed and yet so absent. The terror trade has been industrious and successful during an eventful and deeply depressing autumn. Over…