register
Katrín Ólafsdóttir

Reykjavík University, Iceland

After reading many of the Country Labor Market papers with interest, I felt I should contribute by writing about my own country. I have also used many World of Labor papers in my own work and as supplemental readings in my labor economics courses. The standard format makes the papers accessible to my students and they appreciate that

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Assistant Professor, Reykjavik University, Iceland

Research interest

Labor economics, economic policy, and behavioral economics

Website

https://en.ru.is/the-university/faculty-and-staff/katrino

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

External member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Iceland

Past positions

Adjunct, Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland (2003–2006); Economist, Landsbankinn Research, National Bank of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland (2002–2003);Head of Forecasting, National Economic Institute, Reykjavik, Iceland (1999–2002)

Qualifications

PhD in Labour Economics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 2009

Selected publications

  • "A deep recession came with deep wage cuts." Economics Letters 189 (2020).

  • "Gender bias in student evaluation of teaching among undergraduate business students." Tímarit um viðskipti og efnahagsmál (Research in applied business and economics) 15:1 (2018): 75–86.

  • "Iceland is the best, but still not equal." Søkelys på arbeidslivet 01-02/2018 (2018): 111–126.

  • "Does Gneezy's cheap talk game measure trust?" Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics 67 (2017): 143–148 (with H.G. Gylfason).

article(s)

  • The labor market in Iceland, 2000–2018

    A flexible labor market that was put to the test in the Great Recession

    Katrín Ólafsdóttir, April 2020
    The Icelandic labor market is characterized by high union density and the Icelanders’ willingness to work, as labor force participation is high, the work week long, and people retire late. The resilience and flexibility of the Icelandic labor market was put to the test in the Great Recession as a large share of employees in the labor market experienced a fall in work hours and a fall in nominal wages, while unemployment rose less than expected. In recent years there has been a strong influx of foreign workers, mostly from Eastern Europe. Studies have shown that their labor force participation is no lower than that of Icelanders.
    MoreLess