Ensuring More Efficient and Secure Trading
The Securities Committee, including NHH researchers Jøril Mæland and Filip Truyen, has delivered a new NOU on changes to the Securities Trading Act.
Low birth rates worry the Norwegian government
We are having fewer and fewer children in this country, which could pose problems in the long term. Now, a new expert committee will look into whether there are measures that can reverse the trend.
The government has appointed a committee to investigate possible reasons why we are having fewer children than before, how it will affect society, and possible measures to reverse the trend.
The committee will be led by senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Rannveig Kaldager Hart. Joining her in the “Birth Rate Committee” is economist Katrine Vellesen Løken, professor at the Department of Economics and researcher at FAIR.
This is the first time in history that the government has established a birth rate committee.
fertility rate
The total fertility rate in Norway has fallen from 1.98 children per woman in 2009 to 1.40 children per woman in 2023. The measurement for 2023 was the lowest recorded level in the country. Today, Norway has a lower birth rate than the OECD average and is among the countries where birth rates have fallen the most in the last 10-15 years.
`The government has introduced good measures that will make everyday life better for families with children, such as cheaper kindergarten and after-school programs, and increased child benefits, but we know less about the impact these measures have on birth rates. There may also be other societal factors that are important when the decision to have children is made. I expect that a committee can help us better understand the connection between societal structures, policies, and birth rates,” says Minister of Children and Families Kjersti Toppe (Sp) in a press release.
The committee will discuss what the state can actively do in terms of measures to better facilitate more children being born and propose measures that may be economically effective.
The committee is to deliver its report in the form of an NOU (Norwegian Official Report) within 18 months from the start, but with an interim report by April 2025 that includes measures that can increase birth rates and an assessment of the costs of these measures.
Report on Nuclear power: Nøstbakken joins expert committee
The Norwegian government wants to investigate nuclear power as a potential energy source in Norway. Linda Nøstbakken, Research Director at Statistics Norway and Adjunct Professor at NHH, joins the new expert committee.