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Henrik Jordahl

Örebro University and IFN, Sweden, and IZA, Germany

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Professor of economics at Örebro University and program director at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Sweden

Research interest

Public economics, in particular the intersection between private business and the public sector. Most research covers tax-financed services, privatization, management, school quality, voting behavior, and interpersonal trust

Website

https://www.oru.se/english/employee/henrik_jordahl

Past positions

SNS – Centre for Business and Policy Studies, External Director of Research, (2012–2015); The Ratio Institute, research fellow (2002); Uppsala University, Department of Economics, assistant lecturer (2002)

Qualifications

PhD in Economics, Uppsala University, 2002

Selected publications

  • Privatizing Welfare Services: Lessons from the Swedish Experiment. Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming (with M. Blix).

  • "Outsourcing public services: Contractibility, cost, and quality." CESifo Economic Studies 65:4 (2019): 349–372 (with F. Andersson and J. Josephson).

  • "Perspectives on public sector outsourcing: Quasi-markets and prices." CESifo Economic Studies 65:4 (2019): 343–348.

  • "The right look: Conservative politicians look better and voters reward it." Journal of Public Economics 146 (2017): 79–86 (with N. Berggren and P. Poutvaara).

  • "Political preferences and public sector outsourcing." European Journal of Political Economy 30 (2013) 43–57 (with M. Elinder)

article(s)

  • Public sector outsourcing Updated

    The desirability of outsourcing the provision of public services depends on their characteristics and market conditions

    Panu PoutvaaraHenrik Jordahl, November 2020
    The decision to outsource public provision of services is multifaceted and context dependent. Doing so tends to lower labor intensity and increase its efficiency. Costs are usually lower, but quality problems can affect services like health care, though consumer choice has stimulated innovation and quality in both education and health care. Natural monopolies are less suitable for outsourcing, while network services (public transportation) may be outsourced through public tenders. Though some jobs may be lost in the short term, the long-term effects are generally positive for a wide variety of activities.
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