This article is translated by UiO:GPT Version 4
Which research project are you working on the most right now?
Currently, I am primarily engaged with two Norwegian Research Council-funded projects. The one I lead is The authority of expertise in professional tax law practice (TALAW). It concerns which experts in the public and private sectors influence tax policy.
The other is The Political Executive: Cabinet Government Praxis Between Laws and Norms (POLITEX). This last project deals with how the work in a government is conducted and how decisions are made, among other things.
What do you aim to find out?
In the TAXLAW project, I am interested in how various experts influence the design of the tax system, and thus how resources are distributed. I am particularly keen on understanding how diverse groups of experts acquire authority so that their views on what constitutes a proper tax system are heard and influential. In Norway, the resource rent tax on salmon farming has been an exciting example of how various actors get involved in the design of the tax on this extremely profitable industry. I find it interesting to study how the tax experts in the Ministry of Finance and the tax administration on one side, and tax lawyers on the other, participate in influencing the discourse on what constitutes a fair tax for this industry.
In the government project, I am particularly interested in how ministers carry out their work, how the collective that a government forms – formally and informally, and how decisions are made. I am also very interested in studying the relationship between professionalism and politics in decision-making.
Why is this important?
Taxation forms the basis for our most central collective services, such as schools, hospitals, roads, etc. Everyone contributes, and everyone has access to the benefits. But there are many among those who earn the most who are very adept at avoiding paying a lot of taxes. Although investigating tax evasion is important, I find it just as fascinating to study what is done entirely legally within the boundaries of the regulatory framework, and thus also who participates in shaping the regulatory framework and based on what interests.
As for the government project, I consider it important because the government is a central actor of power in society that is rather understudied. Several other key political institutions, like parliaments and ministries, have been thoroughly studied, but governments often evade closer examination; they are characterized by secrecy. There are good reasons why much of what governments do is secret, but it is still important that research addresses such a central power wielder in society.
Who are you collaborating with?
In the tax project, I'm working with a group including Helle Dyrendahl Staven from OsloMet, Jakob Laage-Thomsen who is Danish but now employed here at UiO, with Australian Len Seabrooke from Copenhagen Business School, and Jér?me Pélisse and Corentin Durand from Sciences Po Paris. These (all sociologists except Seabrooke who is some kind of mix between political science, economics, and sociology) bring different methodological and theoretical competences to the project and complement each other well! In the government project, I am working with a truly interdisciplinary group with the four political scientists Jostein Askim, Kristoffer Kolltveit, Bj?rn Erik Rasch, and Bj?rn Forum Mo from UiO, the historian Yngve Flo, and the legal scholar Eirik Holm?yvik from the University of Bergen. This is a really nice bunch that is very easy to collaborate with. Oddly enough, this interdisciplinarity is not at all challenging; it works exceedingly well.
What do you look for when choosing your collaborators?
Usually, it's about finding people who hold the expertise I need to answer the research question I'm interested in tackling, and whether they can facilitate access to data (for fieldwork, for instance). But as time has passed, I've become more concerned about whether they are pleasant and enjoyable to work with.
What other research projects are you involved in?
I'm also working quite a bit with a project on gender equality and knowledge hierarchies in academia. Over time, I have worked a lot with Julia Orupabo at the Institute for Social Research on various article projects about academia. We have studied how those hiring academic positions assess quality, and we are currently working on several articles about how young academics adapt their research to what they believe is necessary to secure a permanent job in academia. We also look at the importance of class and gender for the opportunity to obtain an academic position. For my part, I'm most interested in whether knowledge hierarchies exist, that is, whether within a field there are methodological, theoretical, or thematic approaches that make it easier to get a job than others.
What do you find most exciting about being a researcher?
I am driven by curiosity; I find it fun to figure out things I didn't know before. I work a lot with interviews, and I simply find it very enjoyable to talk to people and hear what they have to say, what they have experienced, and how they view the world. I also find it particularly interesting to investigate how power is legitimized in society, who gets to participate in deciding, and how knowledge helps to legitimize power.
What is the most common question you get about your job when you're with others?
Since I am currently working a lot with tax law, many probably try to avoid getting me started talking about work, as it gets too niche. When I tell about what I do, a common question is: why do you do that? Many don't quite see the point. It can be a bit challenging to convey the idea, but I hope and believe that it matters that there are some of us who question the power foundation of those who wield power, and examine how expertise and interests can be intertwined among groups that have power but often appear as unassailable.