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Publications (10 of 72) Show all publications
Andersson, F. W., Jordahl, H. & Kärnä, A. (2023). Ballooning bureaucracy? Stylized facts of growing administration in Swedish higher education. Constitutional Political Economy
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Ballooning bureaucracy? Stylized facts of growing administration in Swedish higher education
2023 (English)In: Constitutional Political Economy, ISSN 1043-4062, E-ISSN 1572-9966Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

All organizations need to allocate labor to production and administration. In many cases—particularly within the public sector—the optimal allocation is far from obvious. Indeed, vocal concerns have been raised about the administrative burden in several public services, not least in education. We investigate this issue using detailed registry data on all employees at Swedish universities and colleges from 2005 to 2019 and document three stylized facts. First, the group of highly educated administrators has grown rapidly, almost by a factor of seven compared with teachers and researchers. Second, the number of less-educated administrators has stayed flat. Third, the time that teachers and researchers spend on administrative tasks has been roughly constant over time. This indicates that resources have been diverted from teaching and research and raises fears of excessive administrative growth in Swedish higher education.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2023
Keywords
Organizational theory, Bureaucracy, Sclerosis, Higher education, Productivity growth
National Category
Economics
Research subject
Economics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-106713 (URN)10.1007/s10602-023-09408-x (DOI)001012946300001 ()2-s2.0-85162878951 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Örebro UniversityThe Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation, P2018-0162
Available from: 2023-06-30 Created: 2023-06-30 Last updated: 2023-12-08Bibliographically approved
Heller-Sahlgren, G. & Jordahl, H. (2023). Test scores and economic growth: update and extension. Applied Economics Letters
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Test scores and economic growth: update and extension
2023 (English)In: Applied Economics Letters, ISSN 1350-4851, E-ISSN 1466-4291Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

Research indicates that education quality – measured by test scores in international student surveys – predicts economic growth. In this paper, we extend previous findings up to 2016 and analyse test scores of upper-secondary school students only. We find that the positive relationship between growth and test scores holds in both cases. The share of top-performing students exhibits a stronger correlation with economic growth than does the share of students who meet basic requirements.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2023
Keywords
Education, economic growth, PISA, TIMSS, top-performing students
National Category
Economics
Research subject
Economics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-103290 (URN)10.1080/13504851.2023.2168604 (DOI)000915368500001 ()2-s2.0-85146998179 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Confederation of Swedish Enterprise
Note

Funding agency:

The IFN Research Program The Economics of the Service Sector 

Available from: 2023-01-20 Created: 2023-01-20 Last updated: 2023-12-08Bibliographically approved
Blix, M., Jordahl, H., Moberg, L. & Persson, L. (2023). Tid att följa upp: Digital tidmätning i svensk hemtjänst. Kristianstad: Kristianstad University Press
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Tid att följa upp: Digital tidmätning i svensk hemtjänst
2023 (Swedish)Report (Other academic)
Abstract [sv]

Digitala tidmätningssystem används i svensk hemtjänst för att mäta och följa upp hemtjänstbesökens längd och innehåll. Systemen samlar in data i realtid och om alla besök. I detta avseende är digital tidmätning ett kraftfullt verktyg som kan förväntas ge bättre förutsättningar för mål-och resultatstyrning än analoga metoder. Samtidigt innebär tidmätningen risker för arbetsmiljön då den kan uppfattas som detaljstyrande och stressande. I denna rapport presenterar vi resultaten från en enkät som skickades ut till alla kommuner om deras användande av tidmätningssystem i hemtjänsten. 123 kommuner besvarade enkäten och 94 av dessa angav att de mäter tidsanvändningen med hjälp av digitala system. I denna rapport presenterar och diskuterar vi resultaten från denna enkät.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Kristianstad: Kristianstad University Press, 2023. p. 35
Series
Faculty of Business Report ; 4: 2023
National Category
Economics
Research subject
Economics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-109507 (URN)9789187973963 (ISBN)
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2018-01573
Available from: 2023-10-31 Created: 2023-10-31 Last updated: 2023-11-01Bibliographically approved
Jordahl, H., Blix, M., Moberg, L. & Persson, L. (2023). Time tracking in home care: Perceptions and reality. Örebro: Örebro University School of Business
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Time tracking in home care: Perceptions and reality
2023 (English)Report (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

We examine the implementation of digital time tracking in home care services in Swedish municipalities. Our study combines original survey data with external measures of quality and costs, allowing us to examine both the perceived and estimated effects of time tracking. According to the responding managers, time tracking has led to improvements in quality and reductions in costs. However, the estimated effects suggest that these managerial perceptions may need to be revised. We found that quality is unaffected or reduced while costs have increased due to the implementation of time tracking. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Örebro: Örebro University School of Business, 2023. p. 15
Series
Working Papers, School of Business, ISSN 1403-0586 ; 6/2023
Keywords
Elderly care, Management accounting, Employee monitoring, Digitalization, Public sector productivity
National Category
Economics
Research subject
Economics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-106220 (URN)
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2018-01573
Available from: 2023-06-08 Created: 2023-06-08 Last updated: 2023-06-09Bibliographically approved
Heller Sahlgren, G. & Jordahl, H. (2022). Skattenytta i skolan. Kommissionen för Skattenytta
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Skattenytta i skolan
2022 (Swedish)Report (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Kommissionen för Skattenytta, 2022. p. 43
National Category
Economics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-103112 (URN)
Available from: 2023-01-14 Created: 2023-01-14 Last updated: 2023-01-16Bibliographically approved
Bergman, M. & Jordahl, H. (2022). Svensk marknads- och konkurrenspolitik (13ed.). In: Lars Hultkrantz; Pär Österholm (Ed.), Marknad och politik: (pp. 289-329). Lund: Studentlitteratur AB
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Svensk marknads- och konkurrenspolitik
2022 (Swedish)In: Marknad och politik / [ed] Lars Hultkrantz; Pär Österholm, Lund: Studentlitteratur AB, 2022, 13, p. 289-329Chapter in book (Other academic)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Lund: Studentlitteratur AB, 2022 Edition: 13
National Category
Economics
Research subject
Economics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-103097 (URN)9789144156798 (ISBN)
Available from: 2023-01-13 Created: 2023-01-13 Last updated: 2023-01-13Bibliographically approved
Angelis, J., Glenngård, A. H. & Jordahl, H. (2021). Management practices and the quality of primary care. Public Money & Management, 41(3), 264-271
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Management practices and the quality of primary care
2021 (English)In: Public Money & Management, ISSN 0954-0962, E-ISSN 1467-9302, Vol. 41, no 3, p. 264-271Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Using the World Management Survey method, the authors mapped and analysed management quality in Swedish primary care centres. On average, private sector providers were better managed than public providers. Centres with a high overall social deprivation among enrolled patients also tended to have higher management quality. Management quality was positively associated with accessibility (length of waiting times), but not with patient-reported experience.

IMPACT: The authors explored the use of management practices at the operational (care centre) level in Swedish primary care. The paper relates management quality to provider characteristics (public or private) and to the quality of care. An expansion of private care centres seems to have increased the average level of management quality in Swedish primary care. The findings suggest that suitable applications of management practices, especially in the area of people management, can produce a higher quality of care.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2021
Keywords
Accessibility, management quality, primary care, quality of care, World Management Survey
National Category
Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy Economics and Business
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-78363 (URN)10.1080/09540962.2019.1689636 (DOI)000497930100001 ()2-s2.0-85075452117 (Scopus ID)
Funder
The Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation
Note

Funding Agency:

IFN project 'Public Services in the Future'

Available from: 2019-12-03 Created: 2019-12-03 Last updated: 2021-08-16Bibliographically approved
Blix, M. & Jordahl, H. (2021). Privatizing Welfare Services: Lessons from the Swedish Experiment. Oxford University Press
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Privatizing Welfare Services: Lessons from the Swedish Experiment
2021 (English)Book (Refereed)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oxford University Press, 2021
National Category
Economics
Research subject
Economics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-83291 (URN)
Funder
The Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation
Note

Accepterad för publicering.

Available from: 2020-06-16 Created: 2020-06-16 Last updated: 2021-02-02Bibliographically approved
Jordahl, H. & Persson, L. (2021). The end of a trend? Retraction of choice in Swedish elderly care. Journal of Economic Policy Reform, 24(2), 189-200
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The end of a trend? Retraction of choice in Swedish elderly care
2021 (English)In: Journal of Economic Policy Reform, ISSN 1748-7870, E-ISSN 1748-7889, Vol. 24, no 2, p. 189-200Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In 2009, Sweden launched a freedom-of-choice reform that gave municipalities the option to introduce standardized quasi-markets in social services. The reform was initially popular to adopt in home care until the share of adopting municipalities leveled out just above 50 percent. In recent years, the trend has reversed, and several municipalities have abolished their choice system. Compared with municipalities with choice systems, the abolishing municipalities are more rural with fewer inhabitants. A fixed-effects regression suggests that decreases in the market share of private providers, political shifts towards the left, and increasing costs may have contributed to the abolition of choice systems.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2021
Keywords
Home care, quasi-market, user choice, privatization, re-municipalization
National Category
Economics
Research subject
Economics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-80800 (URN)10.1080/17487870.2020.1746660 (DOI)000546261300001 ()2-s2.0-85092609224 (Scopus ID)
Funder
The Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation, 2017-0158:1
Available from: 2020-03-21 Created: 2020-03-21 Last updated: 2021-08-16Bibliographically approved
Poutvaara, P. & Jordahl, H. (2020). Public sector outsourcing. IZA World of Labor, 65
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Public sector outsourcing
2020 (English)In: IZA World of Labor, E-ISSN 2054-9571, Vol. 65Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

It is impossible to give uniform policy advice on outsourcing the provision of public services to the private sector. Whether that is desirable depends on the characteristics of the service and on market conditions. For instance, educational voucher systems can increase service quality and decrease costs, though some drawbacks also exist. Natural monopolies are less suitable for outsourcing, and doing so could result in higher prices and lower quality. The best course of action is for local governments to be allowed to make their own decisions based on their specific needs, circumstances, and political preferences.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2020
National Category
Economics
Research subject
Economics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-88000 (URN)10.15185/izawol.65.v2 (DOI)
Available from: 2020-12-10 Created: 2020-12-10 Last updated: 2021-02-26Bibliographically approved
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0001-8857-6116

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