Ola Olsson
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oolsson.bsky.social
Ola Olsson
@oolsson.bsky.social

Professor of Economics and HoD at University of Gothenburg
Economic growth, development economics and economic history.
Author of "Paleoeconomics: Climate Change and Economic Development in Prehistory”
https://sites.google.com/site/econolaols/home .. more

Economics 50%
Political science 17%
Pinned
My book "Paleoeconomics" is now available in online book stores. It offers a chronologically structured overview of the economics of prehistory from the first hominins to the rise of states in 3500 BCE. It builds on rapidly growing research in several fields. 1/6 link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Paleoeconomics
This accessible and insightful textbook Paleoeconomics provides a comprehensive introduction to the economics of prehistory.
link.springer.com

We are very excited about the new research opportunities that this VR funding opens up for the department.
The research project ATLASS receives VR infrastructure funding through SwedPop! 🎉

Using machine learning, ATLASS will digitize Swedish school archives to enable new research on education and inequality.

👉Read more: shorturl.at/EvrTj

Reposted by Ola Olsson

The research project ATLASS receives VR infrastructure funding through SwedPop! 🎉

Using machine learning, ATLASS will digitize Swedish school archives to enable new research on education and inequality.

👉Read more: shorturl.at/EvrTj

Kul att långsiktig ekonomisk tillväxt blir föremål för ännu ett Nobelpris! I artikeln nedan kommenterar mina kollegor och jag pristagarnas bidrag.
www.gu.se/nyheter/uppt...
Upptäckter av drivkrafter för ekonomisk tillväxt prisas
Aldrig tidigare har människan upplevt en så lång period av ihållande ekonomisk tillväxt som under de senaste tvåhundra åren. Årets ekonomipristagare Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion och Peter Howitt har ge...
www.gu.se

Väldigt glad för denna fina recension av min bok Paleoeconomics i @ekonomiskdebatt.bsky.social !

www.nationalekonomi.se/artikel/pale...
Paleoekonomi - Nationalekonomiska Föreningen
Recension av Ola Olsson: Paleoeconomics, Palgrave Macmillan, 2024, 351 sidor, ISBN 978-3-031-52783-8.
www.nationalekonomi.se

Will we be able to trust key economic data from the US again?

The America We Knew Is Rapidly Slipping Away www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/o...
Opinion | The America We Knew Is Rapidly Slipping Away
www.nytimes.com

Just presented my paper on weather shocks and monument construction during the Classic Maya period at the WEHC in Lund. Happy for the great lineup of very interesting papers and presenters and for the turnout. Also thrilled to find my book in the book exhibition!

Jag kommenterar handelsavtalet mellan EU-USA i dagens Di. Jag tycker att EU vek ned sig alldeles för lätt. Inget hindrar Trump från att kräva ännu mer senare. Att ensidigt acceptera 15% tullar är orimligt.
dise.page.link?link=https:/...
Professor kritisk: EU borde ha trappat upp – ”har mer muskler”
EU-kommissionens ordförande Ursula von der Leyen borde ha satt hårt mot hårt i förhandlingarna med USA:s president Donald Trump. Det är mycket som står på spel – en hel världsordning – varnar Ola Olss...
dise.page.link
We're very excited to introduce three candidates on the #econjobmarket this year! Meet Vorada Limjaroenrat, Jimmy Karlsson, and Jens Ewald, and read their job market papers here: gu.se/en/school-bu...
#econsky #econjmp #econ #jmp
@jensewald.bsky.social @jimmykarlsson.bsky.social
Hello #EconSky I’m a PhD Candidate from Gothenburg University on the academic market this year. My research covers environmental and labor economics, and my #EconJMP studies the effect of a carbon tax reform on firms and labor market inequality in Sweden.

More info on my website: jimmykarlsson.com

I was interviewed a short time ago in Javier’s excellent EPH Podcast about my book Paleoeconomics. I hope you enjoy listening to it.
www.linkedin.com/posts/javier...
🌍 New season of the EPH Podcast! | Javier Mejia Cubillos
🌍 New season of the EPH Podcast! In this episode, I talk with Ola Olsson about the economics of the Paleolithic and Neolithic. How did a small species of hominids conquer the world? What challenges ...
www.linkedin.com

EU should of course respond with tariffs in line with the measures agreed on in April. Time to take a break from the flattery that EU leaders have tried in different fora and show resolve.
A 30% tariff on EU exports would hurt businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic.

We will continue working towards an agreement by August 1.

At the same time, we are ready to safeguard EU interests on the basis of proportionate countermeasures.

europa.eu/!tPvKn8
A 30% tariff on EU exports would hurt businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic.

We will continue working towards an agreement by August 1.

At the same time, we are ready to safeguard EU interests on the basis of proportionate countermeasures.

europa.eu/!tPvKn8

Kommenterar senatens behandling av Trumps budget Dagens ETC.

Reposted by Ola Olsson

Dagens ETC @etc.se · Jul 2
Donald Trumps heliga skattesänkningspaket "One big, beautiful bill" har röstats igenom i senaten.
Trump nära stor skatteseger – som kan kosta 50 000 liv per år
Farhågan: skenande statsskuld, rika blir rikare och fattiga mister skyddsnät.
www.etc.se

Reposted by Ola Olsson

Recently accepted to #REStud, "Surviving Childhood: Effects of Removing a Child From Home," from Ronja Helénsdotter
@rhelensdotter.bsky.social @MIT @econGU:

www.restud.com/surviving-ch...

#econsky

Reposted by Ola Olsson

This week, the PhD students who have divided their time between Addis Ababa University and the University of Gothenburg present their theses to their peers and supervisors before finalizing them. Excellent work!
#addisababauniversity #universityofgothenburg #EnvironmentalEconomics #phdstudent #PhD

There are of course numerous lessons from recent history about what Trump’s handling of the unrest in LA might lead to. The most worrying is probably ”Crackdowns can be steppingstones to wider power grabs.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/w...
3 Lessons From International Protests Amid Unrest in L.A.
Experts who study protest movements say the scenes unfolding in California broadly follow a script that has played out many times in other countries — sometimes with deadly consequences.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Ola Olsson

Our frequent guest and affiliated colleague Martin Berg Karlsson @drdemant.bsky.social has co-authored a paper on German health insurance that is forthcoming in @jpolecon.bsky.social. Congratulations! doi.org/10.1086/734781
University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent
doi.org

An illustration of how the Trump administration’s counterproductive tariffs hurt even the manufacturing of Swedish cars in the US.

Reposted by Ola Olsson

Our results show that while extreme Nile floods result in a greater degree of political instability (ruler and dynastic tenure durations), periods with a greater rainfall in the hinterland cause a decline in state capacity and a delayed increase in political instability.

Effective enviromental circumscription was created through an interplay between Nile floods (proxied by rainfall over Highland Ethiopia) and Mediterranean rains that determined the productivity of the hinterland.

My paper with Laura Mayoral on the political impact of floods and droughts in Ancient Egypt, is now assigned to an issue of JEconGrowth. We provide evidence of a "dynamic circumscription model" where Egypt was sometimes like a "social cage" where rulers could easily dominate.
rdcu.be/eoDL5
Floods, droughts, and environmental circumscription in early state development: the case of ancient Egypt
rdcu.be

Reposted by Ola Olsson

We were very happy to host Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin today during seminars and an important keynote lecture. Thanks to all 700 participants irl and online for attending!
www.gu.se/en/event/cla...
Claudia Goldin: Why Women Won
Join the 2025 edition of the Tore Browaldh Lecture, where Nobel Laureate and Harvard Professor Claudia Goldin talks about women's societal and economical changes and impact.
www.gu.se

Very good!!

Reposted by Ola Olsson

So true. But it also comes with a responsibility to be better at defending our freedom.
economist.com/europe/2025/...
The thing about Europe: it’s the actual land of the free now
Europe’s very real problems don’t look so bad by comparison
economist.com

Good to see that Harvard takes the lead in this important fight for academic freedom.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/u...
Trump’s Threats Force Powerful Institutions to Choose: Cut a Deal or Resist
In a hint of a shift in strategy, some of the country’s most powerful institutions have started choosing to resist.
www.nytimes.com