My 4-year-old son Mateo clearly understands how academia works. Upon learning from my wife that I had a paper rejected, he came to me and asked, with the saddest face: "Papi, did your work break?" I guess… in a way, yes.
Jaakko Meriläinen
@jmerilainen.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Economics @ SSE | Mediocre political economist, aspiring trumpetist, winner of the 2011 International Kantele Competition, amateur oil painter, and Mateo and Mila's dad | Read more: https://sites.google.com/view/jaakkomerilainen/
Our paper on political selection in Finland is now out in the October issue of @jeeanews.bsky.social! academic.oup.com/jeea/article...
Personality Traits and Cognitive Ability in Political Selection
Abstract. A vast scholarship questions whether voters are sufficiently informed to act in their best interest at the polling booth, which may also have imp
academic.oup.com
Jaakko Meriläinen@jmerilainen.bsky.social · 2y ago🧵 Who enters politics? Are politicians different from the general population? In our @jeeanews.bsky.social paper (M. Jokela, @jannetukiainen.bsky.social, Å. von Schoultz), we study Finnish politicians’ cognitive and personality traits using military conscription test data. 📊
Come work with me! Stockholm Sch of Econ (@handels_sse ) is hiring Assistant Professors this year, both in Economics (my dept) and in Finance. By revealed preference, I think it’s a great place to work + a lovely city to live in. Econ advert below: jobs.hhs.se/en/job/stock...
Tenure Track, Assistant Professor Position at The Department of Economics
Description and QualificationThe Department of Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) seeks candidates for one tenure-track assistant professor po...
jobs.hhs.se
New working paper: "Engines of Empowerment: Cattle Tending, the Milking Machine & Women in Politics" (with Eva Forslund & @jmerilainen.bsky.social). 📄 swopec.hhs.se/hamisu/paper... #EconHistory #Gender #Development #SSE #Misum
...and now we're getting the milking machine --> increased female political representation in Finland by Forslund, @jmerilainen.bsky.social and @celinezipfel.bsky.social ! I have to say I'm a great fan of the agricultural history turn within economics. sites.google.com/view/celinez...
we've already had the milking machine --> upgrading of womens' job structure in Norway with Ager et al. openaccess.nhh.no/nhh-xmlui/ha... ...
🎓 New working paper: "Communism in the Classroom: Long-Run Effects of an Experiment" (with Matti Mitrunen)
![This paper investigates the individual-level economic impacts of Marxist-Leninist indoctrination. We examine the long-run effects of a rogue educational experiment that, between 1973 and 1975, exposed two cohorts of fifth graders in one Finnish municipality to a history and social studies curriculum influenced by Soviet ideas. The experiment aimed to study the formation of a ``functioning [socialist] worldview.'' Students in other cohorts and municipalities followed the standard curriculum. Using comprehensive register data and a difference-in-differences approach, we show that exposed students earned significantly less in adulthood than their non-exposed peers. This gap is partly explained by reduced labor supply and a shift toward more left-leaning, lower-paying occupations. We find no substantial effects on educational attainment, cognitive ability, or personality traits related to achievement striving. These findings highlight the long-lasting economic consequences of early exposure to ideological content in the classroom.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:iw4zik7u5zligtxo5zkry7ie/bafkreia3fludtx33qqjgyvqy4o72637jqj5xuqlpuds23fr2irlggcxrvi)
Currently in FirstView: "When Can We Trust Regression Discontinuity Design Estimates from Close Elections? Evidence from Experimental Benchmarks" by Leandro De Magalhães, Dominik Hangartner, Salomo Hirvonen, @jmerilainen.bsky.social, Nelson Ruiz, and @jannetukiainen.bsky.social.
Puolue-kuntatason aineisto näyttää, että lyhyillä listoilla tuomioita on enemmän ehdokkaita kohti - pitkillä listoilla on todennäköisemmin vähintään yksi tuomittu ehdokas. Kuvioissa on lohkottu hajontakuvio, jossa aineisto on keskiarvotettu 20 lohkon sisällä, sekä lineaarinen sovite.
Jaakko Meriläinen@jmerilainen.bsky.social · last yr.Iltalehti uutisoi ehdokkaiden rikoksista vuosina 2021-2025: iltalehti.fi/politiikka/a.... Plottasin vähän jakaumia rikoksista tuomittujen ehdokkaiden osuuksista puolueiden välillä ja vertailin muuhun väestöön Tilastokeskuksen aineistoilla rikostuomioista vuosina 2019-2023...
Iltalehti uutisoi ehdokkaiden rikoksista vuosina 2021-2025: iltalehti.fi/politiikka/a.... Plottasin vähän jakaumia rikoksista tuomittujen ehdokkaiden osuuksista puolueiden välillä ja vertailin muuhun väestöön Tilastokeskuksen aineistoilla rikostuomioista vuosina 2019-2023...
IL-jättiselvitys: Heidät on tuomittu rikoksesta – Tarkista oman ehdokkaasi tilanne
Alue- ja kuntavaaleissa on satoja rikoksesta tuomittuja ehdokkaita. Tällaisia ehdokkaita löytyy kaikista eduskuntapuolueista, mutta perussuomalaisten listoilla heitä on selvästi enemmän kuin muilla pu...
iltalehti.fi
Julia Cagé & David Yanagizawa-Drott awarded the 2025 Yrjö Jahnsson Award in Economics for their important contributions on political economy & the media, based on deep historical research in France, the USA, and Africa. Full info ℹ️https://eeassoc.org/awards/yrjo-jahnsson-award
And in Finland, exposure to an inflow of workers following EU expansion ⬇️ earnings of exposed workers by about 9% relative to non-exposed workers and regions (though, some evidnece of positive effects for workers with complementary skills) @jmerilainen @jmerilainen.bsky.social
www.bbc.com/news/article... I’m just going to leave this here…
World Happiness Report: Finland named as happiest country for eighth year - BBC News
Access to nature and a strong welfare system are cited as factors as Nordic nations dominate the rankings.
bbc.com
Jaakko Meriläinen@jmerilainen.bsky.social · 2y agoThe real reason Finland is the happiest country in the world isn't the sauna (www.economist.com/europe/2024/...); it's this:
Interesting new paper: arxiv.org/pdf/2503.09907 improves on both rdrobust and rdhonest! Quite compelling... 1/n
Kuntatyöntekijöiden ehdokkuus esillä mediassa, tällä kertaa johtavassa asemassa olevien työntekijöiden osalta: yle.fi/a/74-20149607. Tarkastelimme vuonna 2018 American Political Science Review -lehdessä julkaistussa tutkimuksessa kuntatyöntekijöiden edustuksen vaikutuksia.
The Department of Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics is looking to hire to RAs. Read more and apply here: hhs.varbi.com/what:job/job....
The Department of Economics is announcing two fulltime positions as a Research Assistant
The two positions are of limited duration, starting on August 26, 2025, and lasting until next summer, with a maximum end date of July 31, 2026. The posts will be based at the SSE premises in the hear
hhs.varbi.com
Dear academic economists! Two weeks left to apply to a position as full professor at the Econ Dept @stockholm-uni.bsky.social. in Sweden, academic - and personal - freedoms are deeply respected. And the microdata is awesome! Deadline March 31! #econsky su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Professor in Economics
Department of Economics For more information about us, please visit: Department of Economics Subject/subject description Economics, with no restrictions on field of research. Main responsibilities Res
su.varbi.com
Vaaliehdokkaiden rötökset jälleen esillä mediassa... (esim. www.hs.fi/tutkiva/art-...) :( Olisi mielenkiintoista tietää systemaattisemmin, miten paljon ehdokkaiden ja valittujen joukossa on rikoksista tuomittuja - ja miten he vertautuvat rivikansalaisiin.
Back to Stockholm after a quick visit to Turku—and what could have been better than presenting new work with Matti and Teppo, namesakes of two local music icons.
Today, we celebrate the day of Finnish culture - happy Kalevala Day! In recognition of this important day, here is a recording from two years ago when my wife Keyla and I performed some Finnish (and other) music at an event in CDMX: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gsn06....
dropbox.com
🧵 Ketkä lähtevät politiikkaan? Ovatko poliitikot erilaisia kuin muu väestö? Tutkimuksemme (M. Jokela, @jannetukiainen.bsky.social, Å. von Schoultz) poliitikkojen kognitiivisista ja persoonallisuuspiirteistä on nyt hyväksytty vertaisarvioituun @jeeanews.bsky.social-lehteen.
Personality Traits and Cognitive Ability in Political Selection
Abstract. A vast scholarship questions whether voters are sufficiently informed to act in their best interest at the polling booth, which may also have imp
academic.oup.com
🧵 Who enters politics? Are politicians different from the general population? In our @jeeanews.bsky.social paper (M. Jokela, @jannetukiainen.bsky.social, Å. von Schoultz), we study Finnish politicians’ cognitive and personality traits using military conscription test data. 📊
Personality Traits and Cognitive Ability in Political Selection
Abstract. A vast scholarship questions whether voters are sufficiently informed to act in their best interest at the polling booth, which may also have imp
academic.oup.com
Kuntavaalit lähestyvät, joten nyt lienee hyvä aika palauttaa pinnalle vähän kunnallispolitiikkaan liittyvää tutkimusta. Tässä blogipostaus, jonka kirjoitimme viime vaalien aikaan @jannetukiainen.bsky.social kanssa: vatt.fi/-/aanestajil...
Äänestäjillä on kuntapolitiikassa paljon valtaa
vatt.fi
University of Helsinki decided to leave Twitter (X).
Ever wondered which regression discontinuity design (RDD) estimator to choose? 🤔 We tackled this question by using experimental benchmarks from lottery tie-breakers in local elections in Colombia and Finland. Here's what we found: 🧵
Job market candidates waiting for their turn to be interviewed (photo from ASSA 2019)
The Norwegian Parliamentary Debates Dataset (with @nedregardoda.bsky.social and Henning Øien) --> 1 million speeches 1945-2024 --> Just out at Nature: Scientific Data --> Part of Politics and elections data collection rdcu.be/d5pC4 www.nature.com/collections/... (collection still open for subm.)
The Norwegian Parliamentary Debates Dataset
Scientific Data - The Norwegian Parliamentary Debates Dataset
rdcu.be
So far the Finnish reaction to the latest undersea cable damage has been excellent: - Finnish authorities stopped the suspected saboteur Eagle S and directed it to Finnish territorial waters for investigation - police and border guard boarded ship and took control - 3km no fly zone around the ship
Latest addition to my collection of cool instruments I can’t play but try to learn — a cuatro puertorriqueño.
