Meet IIES Graduate Student Ida Kristine Haavi
Ida Kristine Haavi joined the IIES as a graduate student after having first joined us as a Research Assistant.
Hej Ida! Can you tell us a bit about your background?
- Hej! I grew up just outside of Oslo, Norway. I started my career working as a project manager for an NGO in Myanmar. This was really exciting, but I wanted to understand more about why the world works the way it does, so I decided to pursue a master's degree in economics at the University of Oslo. Here I was inspired to continue economics research, and after one year as a research assistant at Norges Bank, I embarked on my PhD at the Department of Economics at Stockholm University and subsequently the IIES.
What research have you done in the past and what are your research interests going forward?
- I'm interested in macroeconomics and monetary policy. Specifically, I want to understand how monetary policy and business cycle conditions affect firm investment decisions under changing market conditions. I study this in both a closed and open economy environment, and use this to evaluate optimal policy targets for monetary policy authorities.
What do you think are the big questions in your field of specialization that we need to have better answers to?
- I believe there is still a lot to be learned about how different firms react to changes in market conditions, and how this impacts economic growth and welfare. This includes understanding how firms react today about future market uncertainty. This will of course also help us to form optimal policy.
How come you chose the IIES?
- I chose the IIES because of all the wonderful things I heard about the PhD environment there, and the excellent and nice faculty in macroeconomics which is my field of interest. The IIES has lived up to its reputation, with a very inclusive, open door policy to discuss everything from deep economic questions to football to Eurovision. Stockholm is also a lovely city to live in, and only a short train ride away from where I grew up, Oslo.