Stock market data undermine myths about female board members
A new study based on Norwegian stock market data shows that financial markets have just as much confidence in female as in male board members. Women are also no more risk-averse than men.
NHH professor appointed to new expert committee on housing allowance
Housing allowance and social assistance form the welfare state’s final safety net. The scheme will now undergo a thorough review. NHH Professor Kjell Gunnar Salvanes is among the experts appointed to advise the government.
The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development has established a broadly composed expert committee to assess the role and design of the housing allowance scheme. The committee is tasked with delivering an official Norwegian report (NOU) by 31 December 2026.
Housing Allowance
- A means-tested state support scheme for households with low incomes and high housing costs
- Administered by the Norwegian State Housing Bank (Husbanken) in cooperation with local authoritiesAims to help households obtain and retain a suitable home
- Approximately 90,000 households receive housing allowance each month
- Most recipients are tenants – around nine out of ten
- More than half also receive other public benefits, such as disability benefits, old-age pensions, work assessment allowance or social assistance
Housing allowance is a means-tested scheme targeting households with low incomes and high housing costs. Today, approximately 90,000 households receive housing allowance each month.
`Housing allowance and social assistance are the final line of defense in the welfare system. Unlike most other elements of the Norwegian welfare model, these schemes are means-tested rather than universal, ´says NHH Professor Kjell Gunnar Salvanes.
Assessing purpose and incentives
A key question for the committee is whether the housing allowance, in its current form, still fulfils its intended purpose – particularly considering rising costs for housing, food and electricity.
`When the scheme is partly based on the relationship between income and housing costs, it is also important to assess the work incentives it creates, ´ Salvanes says.
More than half of housing allowance recipients also receive other public benefits, such as disability benefits, old-age pensions, work assessment allowance or social assistance. The committee will therefore examine how housing allowance interacts with other welfare schemes, and how the overall benefit system affects incentives to work.
`It must pay to work. The committee will assess whether changes are needed to ensure that housing allowance better supports the work-first principle, ´ Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Bjørnar Skjæran has stated.
Focus on the rental market
Nine out of ten housing allowance recipients rent their homes, meaning that the situation of tenants will be a central focus of the committee’s work. The review forms part of the government’s five-point plan for the rental market.
The committee is chaired by researcher Kristin Aarland at OsloMet and includes members with broad expertise in housing and labour markets, welfare schemes and local government.
`We have put together a committee with strong academic expertise, well equipped to review the housing allowance scheme, ´ Skjæran says.
Optimizing Logistics under Uncertainty
On Thursday 29 January Pankaj Kumar Sinha will hold a trial lecture on a prescribed topic and defend his thesis for the PhD degree at NHH.