The thesis analyses the establishment of the Oil Fund and the fiscal rule regulating spending, including the innovative policy design and how it garnered political support and legitimacy among the population.
– The economists who formulated the policy were not only academically skilled, but also excellent storytellers, writes Camilla Bakken Øvald to inn.no.
Bakken Øvald has completed her doctoral work in the PhD programme Innovation in Services in the Public and Private Sectors (INSEPP). She usually works at Kristiania University College.
A limited group of politicians and economists met at repeated decision points, not only defining solutions to a cognitive problem but also attributing normative values to the policy, Bakken Øvald explains.
By presenting the Oil Fund as a tool for saving for future generations in line with Norwegian traditions, the policy was secured a position as the guardian of Norwegian welfare and anchored in a narrative that has shaped all subsequent discussions about the Oil Fund
– The strategic narrative became an integral part of the economic policy, contributing to stability but also limiting alternative perspectives by portraying ideas outside the established policy as being in opposition to Norwegian values and the prosperity of future generations, she says.
The thesis contributes to expanding the research field on natural resource management by including the political and strategic processes underlying successful long-term economic policies.
The research also contributes to further developing concrete theories on political processes, including the role of experts in politics and the Multiple Stream Framework.
- Her finner du mer informasjon om disputasen til Camilla Bakken Øvald 22. august 2024.
- Here you can find more information about Camilla Bakken Øvald's defence on 22 August, 2024.
Main findings in the doctoral work:
- An effective economic policy for the management of natural resources is not solely based on economic factors but also on the historical and political narrative that surrounds it.
- The strategic narrative of the Norwegian Oil Fund and the fiscal rule has been crucial in ensuring the legitimacy of the policy. This was developed by a selective group of political and bureaucratic actors and includes the following elements:
- Consistency with Norwegian historical traditions regarding the importance of saving for future generations and sustainable management of natural resources (strategic framing).
- Emphasis on the Oil Fund being apolitical, where financial decisions are left to experts (discursive depoliticisation).
- Changes in the strategy are justified through new definitions of key concepts such as risk and responsible spending (conceptual innovation).
Contact information:
E-mail: CamillaBakken.Ovald@kristiania.no
Mobile phone: +47 984 48 438