Knowledge Platform: Demographic change and the public sector
Many countries around the world are reporting an ageing population, a trend that is expected to continue also in the future. Since population ageing often is associated with different economic problems, such as labour shortages and exhaustion of the social security system, an ageing population is often viewed as a demographic challenge and policymakers have invested much effort in how to address this demographic change in a sustainable way. Closely related are issues regarding health, immigration, gender equality and family formation.
The platform Demographic change and the public sector, which was established in January 2020, depart from these issues. The platform has its roots in the long tradition of research and education oriented towards demographic and labour market issues at Linnaeus University. The purpose of the platform is to create new knowledge in a field that is of high scientific and societal relevance and to link together research and education in this area.
Research
Research oriented towards different dimensions of demographic issues has been high on the agenda at Linnaeus University for a long time.
Several of the platform are previous members from the former Linnaeus University Centre for Discrimination and Integration Studies (2012–2019).
From 2019, this center has received external funding from the Swedish Research Council for the research environment Diversity in the labor market for the period 2019 to 2024. This research center is one core in the current platform. A main purpose of this externally funded research environment is to gain knowledge regarding what measures are effective in promoting diversity in the labor market. This is done in partnership with firms and organizations.
Members from the platform have published their work in high quality journals within economics and fields related to demography.
Members of the platform are also participating in research projects externally funded by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), the Swedish Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (Forte), the Kamprad Foundation, Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation and others.
Recent publications
List of publications in DiVA – Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet
Education
The knowledge platform is responsible for education at the bachelor, master and at the doctoral level.
We offer a three-year bachelor program in Economics, Nationalekonomprogrammet, and we are responsible for the specialization in economics within the four-year program in Business and Economics, Civilekonomprogrammet.
At the master level, we offer a two-year programme in Economics.
The platform also hosts a doctoral program in Economics, where researchers connected to the knowledge platform are engaged as supervisors and where we offer doctoral courses and workshops. The doctoral program is organised in collaboration with the Swedish Graduate Programme in Economics (SWEGPEC), a collaboration of doctoral programmes in economics at universities in Sweden.
The general purpose of our education is to allow students acquire skills that enable them to critically analyse and discuss economic problems and solutions to these problems.
Our education has a strong connection to the research. The connection is established by introducing students to the methods used to conduct research within economics but also through the platform’s profile courses – in public economics, labour economics and economics of migration – that in addition to theory introduce students to current research conducted within the fields.
Collaboration with the surrounding society
Collaboration with the surrounding society is a central part of the research in the platform. This is reflected not at least by the fact that research in the externally funded platform Diversity on the labor market to a large extent is conducted in partnership with firms and organizations.
The platform has the aim collaborate with other faculties at the Linnaeus University as well as with researchers from other universities. There are several ongoing projects, of which some are conducted with economists from other universities while others are conducted with psychologists, political scientists and social scientists.
Collaborations also exist in the sense that members are active in writing reports for different authorities. Members of the platform are also involved in the public debate with articles in newspapers. Further, members of the platform are continuously giving public lectures and are participating in public seminars.
Staff
Researchers and teachers
- Lina Aldén (fd Andersson) Associate Professor
- +46 470-70 87 86
- +46 72-594 15 28
- linaaldenlnuse
- Lars Behrenz Associate Professor, Deputy vice-chancellor responsible for knowledge environments
- +46 470-70 86 58
- +46 72-216 51 08
- larsbehrenzlnuse
- Magnus Carlsson Associate Professor
- +46 480-49 71 87
- magnuscarlssonlnuse
- Thomas Ericson Senior lecturer
- +46 470-70 85 62
- +46 72-594 14 10
- thomasericsonlnuse
- Thomas Giebe Associate Professor
- +46 470-70 85 17
- thomasgiebelnuse
- Mats Hammarstedt Professor
- +46 470-70 88 48
- +46 76-133 88 48
- matshammarstedtlnuse
- Hyunjoo Kim Karlsson associate professor
- +46 470-70 85 59
- hyunjookimkarlssonlnuse
- Tobias König Senior Lecturer, Head of Department
- +46 470-70 82 62
- tobiaskoniglnuse
- Peter Sandholt Jensen Professor
- petersandholtjensenlnuse
- Lars Tomsmark Lecturer
- +46 470-70 86 59
- larstomsmarklnuse