He shows how households are affected by economic changes in society
Roine Vestman is professor of economics at the Department of Economics. He is one of the new professors who will be installed at a ceremony in the Stockholm City Hall on September 27.
“My research is about a few different things. For example, how funded pension systems should be designed, and how households’ consumption is affected by fluctuations in house prices and the Riksbank’s policy rate. These are questions that interest macroeconomists, but I often use micro data on individual households in the analysis.”
How did you get into this?
“A combination of circumstances. I did my Ph.D. in economics at New York University (NYU), which had an incredibly strong research environment in macroeconomics and financial economics. At the same time, I saw that many Swedish economists got a lot of mileage out of using register data from Statistics Sweden (SCB). I started trying to formulate questions where I could benefit from what I learned at NYU and from the fact that I could order data from Statistics Sweden.”
How does your research contribute to society?
“For me, it is important that at least parts of my research are policy-related, i.e. that the findings are relevant for decision makers at for instance government agencies. My article with Martin Flodén, former Deputy Governor of the Riksbank, Matilda Kilström and Josef Sigurdsson is a good example of this. We show empirically that there is a large difference in interest rate sensitivity between different household groups. It may sound obvious, but such empirical patterns are not easy to replicate in central banks’ model parks.”
What has been most exciting so far?
“If you have to judge by citations, which you probably shouldn’t, then it is my article with Erik Lindqvist in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. We show that different personal qualities are valued differently depending on whether you are highly or poorly educated. For highly educated people, high intelligence leads to better labor market outcomes – high salary, etc. But for people with lower education, other personal characteristics are more important. We call it non-cognitive abilities.”
“The study is based on analysis of military enlistment data from the period 1983 – 1993 which we matched with labor market outcomes from 2006. The non-cognitive abilities measure characteristics via a structured interview at enlistment. Qualities that make good conscripts, for example willingness to take responsibility, independence, patience and initiative, are rewarded almost as highly as raw intelligence in the labor market. The article has approximately 1,000 citations according to Google Scholar.”
Inauguration and Conferment ceremony in the City Hall
Roine Vestman is one of the new professors who were employed during 1 July 2023 – 30 June 2024. All new professors who took office during this period are invited to the Inauguration and conferment ceremony in the Stockholm City Hall 27 September 2024. The professorial installation is the occasion when the new professors are welcomed to the university and their different subject areas are brought to attention.
Read more about Roine Vestmans' research on his web page.
Last updated: September 5, 2024
Source: Communications Office