Assar Lindbeck facts for kids

Carl Assar Eugén Lindbeck (1930–2020) was a well-known Swedish professor. He taught economics at Stockholm University. Economics is the study of how people and countries use resources to make and share goods and services.

Assar Lindbeck was a member of important groups like the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He even led the committee that chose winners for the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. This is a very important award for people who do great work in economics.

What Did Assar Lindbeck Study?

Assar Lindbeck studied many interesting topics in economics. He looked into why people might be unemployed. He also studied how welfare systems work and how they can affect people's choices.

Unemployment and Work Habits

One of his ideas was the insider-outsider theory of employment. This theory explains how some workers (insiders) might have more job security than others (outsiders). He also looked at how welfare systems might change people's work habits and sense of responsibility.

Lindbeck believed that if welfare systems are not set up well, they could make people less likely to work. He thought it was important for people to feel responsible for their own lives.

Studying Sick Leave

Assar Lindbeck also wrote about sick leave. He worked with other researchers to see why sick leave numbers were different in various places. He also studied how laws about job security might affect how often people took sick leave.

Leading Important Groups

Lindbeck was a leader in many important organizations. He used to be in charge of the Institute for International Economic Studies at Stockholm University.

The Lindbeck Commission

In the early 1990s, Sweden faced an economic crisis. The Swedish government asked Assar Lindbeck to lead a special group called the "Lindbeck Commission." This group's job was to suggest ways to fix the economy. Their ideas helped Sweden recover.

He also worked as a fellow at research centers like CESifo in Munich and the Kiel Institute of World Economics.

Views on Rent Control

Assar Lindbeck was known for his strong opinions on rent control. Rent control is when the government sets limits on how much landlords can charge for rent.

Starting in the 1960s, he argued that rent control was a bad idea. He famously said that "In many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city—except for bombing." He believed that rent control could harm cities by making it harder to find good housing.

See also

In Spanish: Assar Lindbeck para niños