Jostein Askim

• Døving, Erik; Askim, Jostein & Johnsen, Åge (2026). Trends in the Informational Basis of Policymaking: Norway 1970–2024. Scandinavian Political Studies. ISSN 0080-6757. 49(3), p. 1–15. doi: 10.1111/1467-9477.70052. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The information that flows to public officials is an important aspect of policymaking. Research on the informational basis of policymaking is, however, fragmented, tending to focus on singular informational practices in isolation. This article develops a typology of multiple informational practices, joining apparently fragmented informational bases of policymaking into a common framework, and using administrative data to explore trends in informational practices in government across five decades, with Norway as a case. The results show that a notable diversification has occurred at the level of the ‘knowledge regime’, especially since the 1990s. Newer informational practices such as performance and internal audits and quality assurances of major investments have expanded at the same time as traditional practices such as policy evaluations and green papers have declined. Taken together, this implies that more customised policy information is being sourced from within the government apparatus, with standardised information becoming more prominent. Possible explanations for this are a desire for less reliance on external providers, public officials increasingly preferring compliant, expedient and predictable information from external sources, and well-positioned internal information providers having expanded their purview and power.

• Askim, Jostein & Houlberg, Kurt (2026). Regulating against freeriding: effects of state regulations on pre-merger overspending by municipalities. Journal of Public Policy. ISSN 0143-814X. p. 1–22. doi: 10.1017/s0143814x26101160. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract Local government amalgamations lead to pre-merger overspending. To prevent this, higher levels of government can temporarily restrict local fiscal autonomy. However, scholars have been unable to demonstrate the effect of reform-specific regulations due to the difficulty in comparing regulated and non-regulated scenarios. Reformers consequently cannot assess the costs and benefits of regulations, resulting in cases of unrestricted overspending incentives. The article studies the effect of regulating opportunistic fiscal behavior in the context of mergers of local governments. It compares local government reforms in Norway (non-regulation) and Denmark (multiple regulations), using a Difference-in-Difference-in-Difference design to estimate the cost of non-regulation. The results show that the costs are significant. In the final year before merging, Norwegian municipalities overspent substantially in relation to both current expenditure and capital investment compared to their regulated Danish counterparts. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, including the case for not implementing regulations of opportunistic fiscal behavior.

• Askim, Jostein (2025). The Norwegian Cabinet. In Kolltveit, Kristoffer; Allern, Elin Haugsgjerd; Braut-Hegghammer, Målfrid & Rasch, Bjørn Erik (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Norwegian Politics. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780198888581. p. 65–86. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198888581.013.0004. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The pinnacle of political power in a parliamentary system of government is the cabinet of ministers, functioning collectively under the leadership of the prime minister. Cabinets must balance between ministerial autonomy, prime-ministerial power, and collective governing. This chapter examines this balancing act in the case of Norway by analysing cabinet meetings, cabinet subcommittees, the prime minister and the Prime Minister’s Office, coalition governance, and the profile of cabinet ministers. The data material includes elite interview data with former cabinet members. The overall assessment is that the collective governing mechanisms inherent in the Norwegian system are more prominent than both ministerial autonomy and prime ministerial power.

• Askim, Jostein; Houlberg, Kurt & Serritzlew, Søren (2025). Reducing horizontal neglect in local government: The role of informal institutions. Public Administration Review. ISSN 0033-3352. 85(6), p. 1788–1803. doi: 10.1111/puar.13925. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The problem of “horizontal neglect” is fundamental to decentralization. However, while individual local authorities may lack incentives to consider the benefits and costs that their actions have on others, they are not always indifferent to these spillover effects. The study focuses on a clear case of horizontal neglect, namely the tendency of local authorities to overspend prior to merging. By employing a survey experiment involving Norwegian local elected officials, the article demonstrates that horizontal neglect can be alleviated through informal institutions, specifically through prosocial norms and the framing of decisions in a way that encourages officials to consider the impact on other jurisdictions. Priming local politicians with reminders of their broader responsibilities reduces both horizontal neglect and the overspending effect of social norms that stem from local politicians’ opposition to the merger of their own municipality.

• Askim, Jostein; Gendźwiłł, Adam & Klausen, Jan Erling (2025). Problem indicators and territorial restructuring: Do institutional decision rules matter? Journal of Public Policy. ISSN 0143-814X. 45(1), p. 45–67. doi: 10.1017/S0143814X25000054. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Territorial restructuring through amalgamating local authorities has figured prominently on the agendas of European governments for many decades. Precisely where and when restructuring occurs is poorly understood, although it is broadly assumed to be initiated in response to fiscal stress, urbanization, and functional decentralization. Using a large-N approach with a 30-year time series for 39 European countries, this article demonstrates that associations between these problems and territorial restructuring depend on institutional decision rules, specifically whether the power to decide on local government amalgamations is centralized or dispersed. The findings indicate that policymakers at the local level are particularly attentive to demographic problems, whereas policymakers at the central level pay more attention to problems related to policy delivery. We outline theoretical and practical implications.

• Askim, Jostein; Bach, Tobias & Christensen, Jørgen Grønnegård (2025). Quiet politicization in Northern Europe. In Peters, B. Guy; Knox, Colin; Francisco, Panizza; Larraburu, Conrado Ramos & Staroňová, Katarína (Ed.), Handbook of Politicization and Political Patronage. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781035326235. p. 114–128. doi: 10.4337/9781035326242.00014. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The chapter covers countries in the Nordic administrative tradition, highlighting features relevant to political–bureaucratic relationships, specifically these countries’ non-politicization conventions. The chapter discusses if and how current international trends in politics and administration may affect politicization in the Nordic countries. Next, existing research from the Nordic countries is reviewed, specifically regarding the number and role of political staff; the appointment and retention of ministerial top civil servants and heads of government agencies; and ministerial top civil servants’ working relations with their ministers, including their provision of political-tactical advice. In conclusion, the chapter discusses the magnitude, form, and consequences of “quiet” politicization in Nordic bureaucracies, considering their shared administrative tradition and the subtle but important institutional differences within it, notably a distinction between pure and hybrid meritocracies. The chapter highlights that by incorporating studies of meritocratic contexts, politicization scholarship can unpick the mechanisms that enable political-administrative systems to sustain merit-based bureaucracies.

• Pedersen, Lene Holm & Askim, Jostein (2024). Elite sense-making in the core executive: the case of Denmark’s 2020 Minkgate Scandal. Perspectives on Public Management and Governance. ISSN 2398-4910. 7(4), p. 149–160. doi: 10.1093/ppmgov/gvae009. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article analyzes the Danish Mink Scandal of 2020 using Karl Weick’s sense-making theory. It zooms in on the 72-hour decision-making process that led to the culling of Denmark’s entire 17 million farmed-for-fur mink population in response to the perceived threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) forming a new mutation. Since there was insufficient legal justification for the culling, the prime minister was forced to call a snap general election, leading to a change of government. We exploit detailed data material containing text messages, e-mail correspondence, documentary material, and specific inquiries. The article demonstrates the strength of Weick’s social–psychological perspective on sense-making for public management research. It shows how time pressure can cut across heavily institutionalized standard operating procedures. It can increase the centralization of the decision-making power at the apex and decouple the formal legal responsibilities, which remain institutionalized with the line ministries. The study argues that sense-making offers learning points that cannot be obtained from formal legal perspectives, which are used to assign responsibilities. Indeed, ex-post thinking may be too convenient—traditional solutions like punishing leaders or agencies may obscure the discovery of more systemic vulnerabilities when crises unfold.

• Askim, Jostein; Forum, Bjørn Mo & Tranøy, Bent Sofus (2024). The party politics of policy endurance: parliamentary settlements in Norway, 1980-2021. In Lucas, Patrick; Nabatchi, Tina; O’Flynn, Janine & Hart, Paul ’t (Ed.), Pathways to Positive Public Administration. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781803929163. p. 400–423. doi: 10.4337/9781803929170.00034. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Bach, Tobias & Kolltveit, Kristoffer (2024). The professional profile, competence, and responsiveness of senior bureaucrats: a paired survey experiment with citizens and elite respondents. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART). ISSN 1053-1858. 35(1), p. 87–101. doi: 10.1093/jopart/muae024. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  How do the professional backgrounds of senior bureaucrats affect their competence and political responsiveness? This article fills a gap by examining these questions in a meritocratic context that accommodates nuanced but potentially consequential variations in the recruitment of senior bureaucrats. Using a paired survey experiment with citizens, representatives, and administrators in Norway, the article demonstrates that agency heads are perceived as less competent and—to a lesser extent—more politically responsive if their profile deviates from the meritocratic ideal of the career civil servant with mission-specific expertise. The article also compares perceptions between groups of stakeholders, filling another gap in the literature. Treatment effects go in the same direction across groups, but the results reveal a mismatch between popular and insider perceptions of bureaucracy: whereas citizens are practically indifferent, administrators are deeply concerned about the competence of an agency head who is a former politician rather than a career bureaucrat. Perceptions of substantive expertise are more aligned: all stakeholder groups view agency heads with mission-specific expertise as more competent and less politically responsive than generalists. Overall, the results demonstrate that variations in who is recruited to senior bureaucrat positions may either strengthen or undermine stakeholders’ views on good governance.

• Askim, Jostein & Johnsen, Åge (2023). Performance management and accountability: the role of intergovernmental information systems. In Teles, Filipe (Eds.), Handbook on Local and Regional Governance. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781800371194. p. 437–452. doi: 10.4337/9781800371200.00042. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The chapter studies performance management as an integral part of local/central government relations, including the role this practice has in benchmarking, strategic planning, evaluation, policy making, and, not least, the controlling relationship between central and local government authorities. A case study of Norway’s mandatory system of local to central government reporting illustrates how local governments can measure and report comparative information about activities and performance, thus enabling openness and transparency, as well as accountability in relation to internal and external stakeholders. The chapter compares the Norwegian system with similar intergovernmental information systems in the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK; discusses the background for the adoption of such systems and consequences of their use; and provides suggestions for possible and likely future developments in the transition from new public management to new public governance.

• Askim, Jostein; Kolltveit, Kristoffer & Smith, Eivind (2023). Ministerial advisers in the Scandinavian tradition. In Shaw, Richard (Eds.), Handbook on Ministerial and Political Advisers. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781800886575. p. 251–265. doi: 10.4337/9781800886582.00027. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Scandinavian countries share numerous characteristics: constitutional monarchy, parliamentary government, proportional representation electoral systems, and frequent coalition governments. When it comes to ministerial advisers, however, the differences are more striking than the similarities. Denmark has a small and functionally weak ministerial adviser cohort, while Norway and, especially, Sweden have many and strong ministerial advisers. This chapter argues that Scandinavian ministerial advisers - their numbers, location, roles, and competencies - can be seen as defensive mechanisms used to help senior politicians and bureaucrats avoid having to change much over time. The chapter compares the Scandinavian countries with an emphasis on inter-departmental coordination and coordination between politicians and bureaucrats. Empirically, the chapter rests on a study of constitutions, statutes, internal government regulations, and 21 elite interviews.

• Kolltveit, Kristoffer; Karlsen, Rune & Askim, Jostein (2023). Survey research and the scholarship on ministerial advisers. In Shaw, Richard (Eds.), Handbook on Ministerial and Political Advisers. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781800886575. p. 110–122. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Survey methodology has been central for investigating the behaviour, roles, and motivations of ministerial advisers. This chapter looks closely at how surveys have been used in research on ministerial advisers and how it can be used to move this scholarship forward. The first part of the chapter is structured according to the process of survey research: defining the population, developing the questionnaire, and collecting and analysing data. At each step, we relate the study of ministerial advisers to the general challenges associated with doing survey research. In the second part of the chapter, we review the insights that have been gained through the use of survey methods in ministerial adviser research. The chapter concludes by suggesting avenues for further survey research on ministerial advisers.

• Askim, Jostein Rosfjord; Houlberg, Kurt & Klausen, Jan Erling (2023). Local government amalgamations and pre-merger overspending: Central naivety meets local opportunism. Journal of Urban Affairs. ISSN 0735-2166. 47(2), p. 451–467. doi: 10.1080/07352166.2023.2187302. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Amalgamation of local governments is an incentive for pre-merger overspending as the costs are transferred to the merged unit of the future. The article updates application of the common pool theory to such opportunistic pre-merger behavior. It studies Norway’s reform of the 2010s and paints a uniquely nuanced picture of pre-merger overspending, comparing fiscal policies before and after enactment of the reform among merging and non-merging municipalities. It provides corroboration that local governments that are about to merge overspend prior to the merger. New insights are gained into local governments’ differential incentives to allocate overspending to capital or current expenditure, and their opportunities to act on these incentives in the final and penultimate years before mergers are implemented. New insights are also gained into the differential incentive structures of junior and senior partners to a merger. Juniors overspend the most on current expenditure, while junior and senior partners overspend equally on capital expenditure. These insights not only have theoretical value but also practical applications.

• Askim, Jostein (2022). Information Use in Public Management. In Schedler, Kuno (Eds.), Elgar Encyclopedia of Public Management. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781800375482. p. 239–242. doi: 10.4337/9781800375499.information.use. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This introduction to scholarship on the use of information by public officials relies on a tradition of coupling the often overly optimistic knowledge utilization scholarship with behaviourally oriented theories of decision making and the policy process. This chapter argues that it is important to be conscious of the fact that utilization can mean many things. Also, understanding variance in use requires attention to interests, ideology and institutions. Relatedly, different types of actors – bureaucrats, politicians and collectives – can approach information quite differently.

• Askim, Jostein & Christensen, Tom (2022). Crisis decision-making inside the core executive: Rationality, bureaucratic politics, standard procedures and the COVID-19 lockdown. Public Policy and Administration. ISSN 0952-0767. 40(1), p. 151–169. doi: 10.1177/09520767221129676. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The article explains how the unprecedented pandemic management decision to lock down the country came about, using the case of Norway and drawing on unique interview material from political and administrative executives. Urgency and precaution were the government’s primary considerations in March 2020, with proportionality and due process only peripheral decision premises. Voices of moderation were drowned out at critical moments to pave the way for a lockdown. Moreover, Norway’s lockdown decision lacked distinct and official agency, with none of the key actors able to say precisely when, where and by whom this decision of unprecedented size and scope had been taken. An interpretation using Graham Allison’s analytical models shows that the rational policy model most accurately captures the case. The suggested implication is that when senior political executives take active control of an ultra-high-stakes process, decisions are unlikely to be the product of political resultants or organisational output.

• Askim, Jostein & Karlsson, Bendik Rød (2022). Koalisjonskontroll i praksis, fra regjeringen Lyng til regjeringen Solberg (1963-2021). Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning (TfS). ISSN 0040-716X. 63(1), p. 5–25. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-291x-2022-01-01. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Artikkelen studerer instrumenter for koalisjonskontroll i Norge, saerlig regjeringsavtaler og partikryssende statssekretaerer. Den spør hvordan bruken av disse instrumentene har utviklet seg mellom 1963 og 2020, og bruker blant annet regjeringsavtaler, forhandlingsprotokoller fra regjeringsforhandlinger, politiske biografier og intervjuer med tidligere regjeringspolitikere som datagrunnlag. Artikkelen finner at utviklingen i hovedsak er uavhengig av type regjering: Regjeringsavtalene blir lengre og lengre, og partikryssende statssekretaerer utplasseres i stadig flere departementer. Regjeringsavtaler er svaert viktige styrende dokumenter for koalisjonsregjeringene, som i andre europeiske land. Enkelte regjeringer, som Willoch II, har satt presedens for senere regjeringer. Videre har store og små partier i en regjering noe forskjellige preferanser: De store vil ha overordnede og generelle regjeringsavtaler, mens de mindre partiene vet at regjeringsavtalen er deres beste sjanse til å få gjennomslag for sine hjertesaker, og ønsker derfor detaljerte avtaler med tydelige løfter.

• Askim, Jostein (2022). Student Financing for Social Equity in Norway, 1947-2020. In Porte, C de la; Eydal, GB; Kauko, Jaakko; Nohrstedt, D; t'Hart, P & Tranøy, Bent Sofus (Ed.), Successful Public Policy in the Nordic Countries: Cases, Lessons, Challenges. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780192856296. p. 153–173. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780192856296.003.0008. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter traces the development of Norway’s higher education student financing policy programme from its genesis in 1945, through transformations including the incorporation of non-repayable grants in the late 1950s, the conversion from needs-based to universal eligibility for support around 1970 and the introduction of progression-dependent grants in the 2000s. With the student financing programme, Norway’s political leaders have sought to tackle multiple challenges, including inequalities between the rich and the poor, the urban and the rural population, and men and women. The chapter argues the programme is a success, although not a success any of the 22 governments that have come and gone since 1945 can claim for themselves. Success was enabled by governments repeatedly taking the long view and seeking political compromise solutions rather than trying to build ideological, party-political, prestige projects. As a result, governments have, in the main, incrementally changed the programme and avoided reversing past governments’ reforms. This rationalistic approach to policymaking was assisted by a long list of ad hoc advisory committees consisting of experts and interested parties providing policy proposals. The policy story, therefore, has strong elements of corporatism and evidence-based policymaking.

• Askim, Jostein Rosfjord & Renå, Helge (2022). Koronakommisjonens evalueringshåndverk. Norsk statsvitenskapelig tidsskrift. ISSN 0801-1745. 38(3), p. 115–122. doi: 10.18261/nst.38.3.5. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  I april 2020 nedsatte regjeringen Koronakommisjonen for å gjøre en grundig evaluering av myndighetenes håndtering av pandemien. Ett år etter forelå NOU 2021: 6 Myndighetenes håndtering av koronapandemien. Rammebetingelsene var så gode at rapporten kan betraktes som en kritisk case for god evalueringspraksis. Artikkelen legger et evalueringsfaglig perspektiv på rapporten og spør hvordan Koronakommisjonen begrunnet sine vurderende konklusjoner. Funnet er at kommisjonen mange steder er tause om hvilke kriterier de har lagt til grunn for sine konklusjoner. At det er vanskelig å ta informert stilling til om man deler eksperters vurderinger, er uheldig i en tid med økende mistro til kunnskap og faglig ekspertise. Mangelfull redegjørelse for konklusjoners grunnlag kan dessuten føre til at solide konklusjoner forkastes og at svakt funderte råd, vurderinger og konklusjoner tas til følge i senere beslutninger.

• Askim, Jostein Rosfjord; Bach, Tobias & Christensen, Jørgen Grønnegård (2022). Political change and administrative turnover in meritocratic systems. West European Politics. ISSN 0140-2382. 47(2), p. 329–355. doi: 10.1080/01402382.2022.2148195. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  A change of government or minister constitutes a stress test for the relationship between ministers and bureaucrats. The new political masters may question the loyalty of incumbent bureaucrats and seek to replace them. However, the relationship between political changes and administrative turnover is poorly understood in meritocratic systems. This article analyses how changes of either government or minister affect the turnover of permanent secretaries in Denmark and Norway (1970–2020). Whereas ministers are completely reliant on career bureaucrats in pure meritocratic systems, they are supported by political appointees in hybrid meritocratic systems. The article investigates whether the effect of political changes on administrative turnover is mediated by the presence or absence of political appointees. Changes of government increase the risk of administrative turnover in Norway (hybrid system), but there are no such effects in Denmark (pure system), suggesting that political appointees potentially undermine the permanence of career bureaucrats.

• Askim, Jostein Rosfjord & Houlberg, Kurt (2022). The Moderating Effects of Social Norms on Pre-merger Overspending: Results from a Survey Experiment. Urban Affairs Review. ISSN 1078-0874. 59(5), p. 1295–1320. doi: 10.1177/10780874221090873. Full text in Research Archive
• Kolltveit, Kristoffer & Askim, Jostein (2022). The Norwegian Core Executive: Baronial Courts and Inner Circles? Core Executives in a Comparative Perspective: Governing in Complex Times. Palgrave Macmillan. ISSN 9783030945022. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-94503-9_11. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Houlberg, Kurt & Klausen, Jan Erling (2021). Fiscal easing in Local Governments Facing Potential Merger: Visible in Budgets or Hidden in Overruns? Public Administration. ISSN 0033-3298. doi: 10.1111/padm.12781. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Mergers incentivize local governments to ease their fiscal policies before the merger is implemented. This incentive is powerful: it is known that local governments start easing fiscal policies even before they know for sure that a merger will occur and even if merging is what they want. Based on a study of Norwegian municipalities, this article shows that irrespective of whether local governments face certain or potential mergers, their fiscal easing is manifested primarily in budget overruns rather than candidly documented in budgets. Among local governments facing a potential merger, unwilling governments ease their fiscal policies more than willing ones do and to a larger extent apply a concealment strategy.

• Askim, Jostein; Bach, Tobias & Kolltveit, Kristoffer (2021). Politisering av embetsverket: Introduksjon til et temanummer. Norsk statsvitenskapelig tidsskrift. ISSN 0801-1745. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-2936-2021-04-01. Full text in Research Archive
• Klausen, Jan Erling; Askim, Jostein & Christensen, Tom (2021). Local Government Reform: Compromise Through Cross-Cutting Cleavages. Political Studies Review. ISSN 1478-9299. doi: 10.1177/1478929919887649. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Public sector reforms often take place in heterogeneous reform environments. Key political, administrative, and societal actors often advocate different definitions of problems and solutions. A major leadership challenge is to choose a reform strategy that ensures the requisite level of support, even when the initial conflict structure is highly complex. Using cleavage theory, we develop assumptions about how the reform leader’s assessment of the initial conflict affects the leader’s choice between three distinct reform strategies. These assumptions are applied to a case study of a complex and contested public sector reform, Norway’s national local government reform. We show how the government’s choice of a reform strategy can be understood in light of cleavage theory, and discuss the implications of these findings for further theory development.

• Askim, Jostein & Bergström, Tomas (2021). Between lockdown and calm down. Comparing the COVID-19 responses of Norway and Sweden. Local Government Studies. ISSN 0300-3930. doi: 10.1080/03003930.2021.1964477. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article studies the difference in the government response to COVID-19 in Norway and Sweden drawing upon theories of agenda setting, crisis management and multi-level governance. Despite having virtually identical systems of government and, initially, facing similar infection threats, Sweden opted for far less strict countermeasures than Norway. While Norway’s government response was similar to that of many European countries, Sweden received international attention for choosing befuddlingly soft measures, mostly recommendations and guidelines. This divergence is discussed vis-à-vis the multiple streams lens of agenda setting theory, highlighting differences in institutional and organisational legacies (e.g., the autonomy of government agencies) and intergovernmental relations (e.g., whether infectious disease expertise and authority is located at the local level).

• Askim, Jostein; Karlsen, Rune & Kolltveit, Kristoffer (2021). Populists in Government: Normal or Exceptional? Government and Opposition. ISSN 0017-257X. 1(21). doi: 10.1017/gov.2021.30. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  How is government affected by including populists in a governing coalition? We investigate if populist political parties behave “normally” when they attain power, or if they govern differently from mainstream political parties. Empirically, we use survey data from 282 ministerial advisers from three cabinets in Norway. Our conclusion is that populists govern normally on some governance dimensions and exceptionally on others. Populists in office had ample professional experience, adhered to collegial decision making, and thought the bureaucracy delivered quality and was politically responsive, on a par with the non-populists. However, populists differed from non-populist politicians in their contact patterns and their communicative concerns. That populists in this context belong to a party with a long history of parliamentary representation (Norway’s Progress Party) suggests elements of exceptionalism are things one should expect to find in practically all populist parties that attain power.

• Askim, Jostein; Døving, Erik & Johnsen, Åge (2021). Evaluation in Norway: A 25-Year Assessment. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration (SPJA). ISSN 2001-7405. 25(3/4), p. 109–131. doi: 10.58235/sjpa.v25i3-4.7087. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article analyses the Norwegian government’s evaluation practice over the 25-year period 1994–2018. Evaluations are mandatory for governmental ministries and agencies in Norway, and the government conducts about 100 evaluations annually. This article utilises data from a unique database to describe the development in the evaluation industry, focusing on the volume of evaluations, the most active commissioners and providers of evaluations, and the types of evaluations conducted. First, the analysis indicates that the volume of evaluations peaked around 2010 and has since decreased. As a possible consequence, less policy relevant information may therefore be publicly available than before. Second, ministries have commissioned relatively fewer evaluations in the last decade than in the years before, and executive agencies commissioned relatively more. Third, consultants’ share of evaluations has risen, and research institutes’ share of evaluations has fallen.

• Askim, Jostein & Bach, Tobias (2021). Mellom meritokrati og politisering? En kompetansestudie av etatsledere med og uten politikerbakgrunn, 1980–2020. Norsk statsvitenskapelig tidsskrift. ISSN 0801-1745. 37(4), p. 171–190. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-2936-2021-04-02. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Artikkelen studerer tilsetting av norske toppbyråkrater i et politiseringsperspektiv og ser på sammenhengen mellom politisk bakgrunn og kompetanse. Forskningsspørsmålene er (1) om toppbyråkrater med politisk bakgrunn er bedre eller dårligere kvalifisert enn andre toppbyråkrater når det gjelder fagkunnskap og ledererfaring og (2) om de som er tilknyttet regjeringspartiene, er bedre eller dårligere kvalifisert enn de som er tilknyttet opposisjonen. Artikkelen studerer 120 etatsledertilsettinger i 48 virksomheter på fire departementsområder fra 1980 til 2020. I 14 % av tilfellene ble det tilsatt en etatsleder som hadde erfaring fra toppolitikken. Resultatene viser at etatsledere med politisk erfaring har lavere fagkunnskap enn etatsledere uten politisk erfaring, men at denne forskjellen drives av de som er regjeringstilknyttet. De opposisjonstilknyttede har ikke statistisk signifikant dårligere fagkunnskap enn de upolitiske etatsledere. Tre teoretiske perspektiver brukes til å tolke funnene. At det er få regjeringstilknyttede blant etatslederne støtter meritokratiperspektivet, men at de som er regjeringstilknyttet er relativt dårlig kvalifisert, støtter politiseringsperspektivet. At de de opposisjonstilknyttede scorer noe lavere, dog ikke statistisk signifikant lavere enn de upolitiske, når det gjelder fagkunnskap, lar seg best forklare med politikkforståelsesperspektivet.

• Askim, Jostein; Karlsen, Rune & Kolltveit, Kristoffer (2021). Departementspolitikere i et politiseringsperspektiv: En studie av statssekretærer og politiske rådgivere i regjeringene Bondevik 2, Stoltenberg 2 og Solberg. Norsk statsvitenskapelig tidsskrift. ISSN 0801-1745. 37(4), p. 191–209. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-2936-2021-04-03. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Over hele den vestlige verden har det de siste tiårene skjedd en vekst i antallet politisk ansatte i departementene (departementspolitikere), noe som ofte ses på som uttrykk for politisering og et ønske om økt kontroll over byråkratiet. For å forstå omfanget av politisering er det imidlertid viktig å ikke bare fokusere på selve antallet departementspolitikere, men også på deres partipolitiske bakgrunn og på deres rolle i regjeringsapparatet og departementet, herunder deres forhold til embetsverket. Artikkelen presenterer resultater fra en omfattende studie av norske departementspolitikeres bakgrunn, funksjoner og oppgaver. Data er hentet fra spørreundersøkelser til statssekretærer og politiske rådgivere fra regjeringene Bondevik 2 (2001-2005), Stoltenberg 2 (2005-2013) og Solberg (2013-2021). Artikkelen bidrar med empirisk kunnskap om en lite studert aktørgruppe i det politiske systemet og en diskusjon av funnene opp mot det mangefasetterte politiseringsbegrepet. Artikkelen konkluderer med at departementspolitikerne politiserer departementet – ikke ved å være en portvokter embetsverket må passere for å nå frem til statsråden, men ved å ha politisk og faglig kompetanse som gjør det mulig å gå inn i saker i fagavdelingene.

• Askim, Jostein & Steen, Anton (2020). Trading Refugees: The Governance of Refugee Settlement in a Decentralized Welfare State. Scandinavian Political Studies. ISSN 0080-6757. 43(1), p. 24–45. doi: 10.1111/1467-9477.12158. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In a decentralized welfare state, central and local governments need each other to settle refugees. Using the case of Norway, the article studies how these interdependencies have been governed over time, including through the 2015–2016 refugee crisis. Norway's refugee settlement programme is a conscious hybrid of market and network governance and it has remained essentially stable for more than 20 years, despite several changes in government, large fluctuations in the number of refugees, and long periods of poor performance vis‐à‐vis settlement targets. This surprising programme stability is explained by a combination of extraordinary political adherence to the democratic value of local government autonomy, the cupidity of local governments, and abundant state economic resources during the period under study.

• Askim, Jostein; Karlsen, Rune & Kolltveit, Kristoffer (2020). Public office as a stepping stone? Investigating the careers of ministerial advisors. Political Studies Review. ISSN 1478-9299. p. 1–19. doi: 10.1177/1478929920906991. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Ministerial advisors (MAs) have become an essential aspect of executive branches worldwide, thus making the MA office a potential route for young politicians aspiring to an expanding political class. The article studies which professions MAs migrate to following their ministerial careers, how MAs’ post-ministerial careers compare to their pre-ministerial careers, and if the variance in careers can be explained by the resources that MAs obtain while in government. Empirically, the article draws on a cohort of 139 MAs in Norwegian governments between 2001 and 2009; it covers positions in the political sphere and the public, private and voluntary occupational sectors over a period from each MA’s youth to the end of 2017. The bibliographic data is combined with surveys and elite interviews. The results show that more than expanding the political class as a recruitment ground for future MPs and ministers, MA appointments serve as stepping-stones to careers outside of politics. Most MAs experience shifts between occupational sectors and upward to higher positions. However, MAs’ attractiveness in the labour market is surprisingly unaffected by what they actually did in office; rather, it rests on resources such as insider knowledge and networks. Keywords: Ministerial Advisors, Careers, Political Class, Revolving door, Executives

• Kolltveit, Kristoffer; Karlsen, Rune & Askim, Jostein (2019). Understanding reputational concerns within government agencies. Policy & Politics. ISSN 0305-5736. 47(3), p. 473–493. doi: 10.1332/030557319X15579230420144. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Blom-Hansen, Jens; Houlberg, Kurt & Serritzlew, Søren (2019). How Government Agencies React to Termination Threats. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART). ISSN 1053-1858. 30(2), p. 324–338. doi: 10.1093/jopart/muz022. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Much research following Kaufman’s classic study Are Government Organizations Immortal? has investigated the claim that government agencies enjoy great security and long life. Less attention has been paid to Kaufman’s thesis that government agencies facing a termination threat have strong incentives to react. In a study of the on-going Norwegian local government amalgamation reform, we demonstrate that this type of government agency reacts by hoarding (i.e., a last-minute flurry of spending) when faced with a termination threat. This finding shows that agencies facing termination threats are active players in the termination game. We discuss implications for research on agency termination and design implications for reformers of the public sector.

• Askim, Jostein; Bjurstrøm, Karl Hagen & Kjærvik, Jonas (2019). Quasi-contractual ministerial steering of state agencies: Its intensity, modes, and how agency characteristics matter. International Public Management Journal. ISSN 1096-7494. 22(3), p. 470–498. doi: 10.1080/10967494.2018.1547339. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article demonstrates the value of conceptualizing four ideal types when studying ministries’ contract steering of state agencies—relational, double-whammy, performance, and behavioral steering—each defined by its combination of input- and output-oriented steering. In the system under study—Norway—about half of all agencies are subjected to steering with a clear profile; the other half are not. The two profiles often dismissed or overlooked in existing research—relational and double-whammy steering—are most common. Thus, introducing a contract regime has not meant a clear shift from input to output control, as posited by some. Most agency characteristics under study—size, age, political salience, and tasks—have significant effects on the likelihood that an agency is subjected to one type of steering or another. Still, the analysis suggests that agency-level characteristics constrain ministerial choice about which steering to practice only to a limited extent.

• Askim, Jostein; Hjelmar, Ulf & Pedersen, Lene Holm (2018). Turning innovation into evidence-based policies: Lessons learned from free commune experiments. Scandinavian Political Studies. ISSN 0080-6757. 41(4), p. 288–308. doi: 10.1111/1467-9477.12130. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  There is a great need for innovation in the public sector and for improved understanding of how innovation can be turned into evidence‐based public policy. This article discusses potential contributions from 30 years of experience in the Nordic countries with a reform programme called ‘Free Commune Experiments’ (FCEs). Here, local authorities are granted waivers from legislation to experiment with normally ‘illegal’ practices. The article asks if the FCEs have managed to synthesise local governments’ potential to generate novel practices with central government’s potential to evaluate, verify and disseminate effective innovations. The conclusion is that the FCEs have been effective generators of policy ideas, but that limited knowledge has been produced about the effects of innovative practices and whether or not new policies should be replicated beyond ‘test sites’. With some changes, it is argued that the programme could nonetheless be a strategy worth emulating beyond the Nordic countries.

• Askim, Jostein; Karlsen, Rune & Kolltveit, Kristoffer (2018). The spy who loved me? Cross-partisans in the core executive. Public Administration. ISSN 0033-3298. 96(2), p. 243–258. doi: 10.1111/padm.12392. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Political appointees from different parties from that of their minister—cross-partisan appointees (CPAs)—are increasingly found in the core executive. Ministerial advisory scholarship has overlooked CPAs, while the coalition governance literature sees them as ‘spies’ and ‘coalition watchdogs’. This article argues theoretically and demonstrates empirically that this conceptualization is overly limited. The empirical basis is a large-N survey of political appointees from two Norwegian coalitions, and a qualitative follow-up survey of CPAs. The results show that CPAs monitor on behalf of their party, provide cross-partisan advice to their minister and perform many of the same tasks as regular partisan appointees, including exercising independent decision-making power. In this research context, most CPAs act as coalition liaison officers who, rather than create tension and negative dynamics, contribute to building trust between coalition partners.

• Askim, Jostein; Karlsen, Rune & Kolltveit, Kristoffer (2017). Political appointees in executive government: Exploring and explaining roles using a large-N survey in Norway. Public Administration. ISSN 0033-3298. 95(2), p. 342–358. doi: 10.1111/padm.12272. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Political appointees in executive government have received increased scholarly attention in recent years. However, few studies have covered non-Westminster systems, and apart from classifications that systemize variation in assignments, theorizing about appointees has been limited. Using large-N survey data, the article finds three distinct roles among political appointees in Norway: ‘stand in’, ‘media adviser’ and ‘political coordinator’. The article then combines insights from research on political appointees with insights from core executive studies (CES) to explain why political appointees perform one role or another. The empirical results support the notion that roles of appointees within the core executive depend on where they sit, supporting the asymmetric power model within CES. The results also show that appointees' roles within the executive depend on their personal experience, supporting the notion of a resource exchange between ministers and their appointees in the mould of the resource-dependency perspective within CES.

• Askim, Jostein; Klausen, Jan Erling; Vabo, Signy Irene & Bjurstrøm, Karl Hagen (2017). Territorial upscaling of local governments: A variable-oriented approach to explaining variance among Western European countries. Local Government Studies. ISSN 0300-3930. 43(4), p. 555–576. doi: 10.1080/03003930.2017.1310102. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Local government systems change at varying speeds. While some countries have dramatically reduced the number of local governments during a short period of time, other countries have seen only incremental change or relative inertia. A number of explanations for structural change have been put forward in the comparative local government literature, but these explanations have to a small extent been tested empirically. This article uses statistical indicators to analyse changes in the local government systems in 17 Western European countries between 2004 and 2014. Some often-cited explanations for what drives structural change receive little support. Still, the article demonstrates that changes tend to occur in situations marked by different combinations of decentralisation, urbanisation, fiscal stress and a recent history of territorial upscaling. The final version of this research has been published in Local Government Studies. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

• Askim, Jostein & Hernes, Vilde (2017). Bosetting av flyktninger: Hvem bør få siste ord - kommunene, staten eller flyktningen selv? In Askim, Jostein; Kolltveit, Kristoffer & Røe, Per Gunnar (Ed.), En smartere stat. Veier til bedre politikk og styring. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 9788215027074. p. 105–124. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Kolltveit, Kristoffer & Røe, Per Gunnar (2017). Veier til bedre politikk og styring. In Askim, Jostein; Kolltveit, Kristoffer & Røe, Per Gunnar (Ed.), En smartere stat. Veier til bedre politikk og styring. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 9788215027074. p. 9–30. Full text in Research Archive
• Kolltveit, Kristoffer & Askim, Jostein (2017). Decentralization as Substantial and Institutional Policy Change: Scrutinizing the Regionalization of Science Policy in Norway. Science and Public Policy. ISSN 0302-3427. 44(4), p. 546–555. doi: 10.1093/scipol/scw083. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Klausen, Jan Erling; Vabo, Signy Irene & Bjurstrøm, Karl Hagen (2016). What Causes Municipal Amalgamation Reform? Rational Explanations Meet western European Experiences, 2004-13. In Kuhlmann, Sabine & Bouckaert, Geert (Ed.), Local Public Sector Reforms in Times of Crisis: National Trajectories and International Comparisons. Palgrave Macmillan. ISSN 9781137525475. p. 59–79. doi: 10.1057/978-1-137-52548-2_4. Full text in Research Archive
• Klausen, Jan Erling; Askim, Jostein & Vabo, Signy Irene (2016). Kommunereformen i Norge. In Klausen, Jan Erling; Askim, Jostein & Vabo, Signy Irene (Ed.), Kommunereform i perspektiv. Fagbokforlaget. ISSN 9788245018912. p. 25–46. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Klausen, Jan Erling & Vabo, Signy Irene (2016). Kommunereformen og dens alternativer. In Klausen, Jan Erling; Askim, Jostein & Vabo, Signy Irene (Ed.), Kommunereform i perspektiv. Fagbokforlaget. ISSN 9788245018912. p. 275–290. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein (2015). The Role of Performance Management in the Steering of Executive Agencies: Layered, Imbedded, or Disjointed? Public Performance and Management Review. ISSN 1530-9576. 38(3), p. 365–394. doi: 10.1080/15309576.2015.1006463. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Christensen, Tom & Lægreid, Per (2015). Accountability and performance management: the Norwegian hospital, welfare, and immigration administration. International Journal of Public Administration. ISSN 0190-0692. 38(13), p. 971–982. doi: 10.1080/01900692.2015.1069840. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Karlsen, Rune & Kolltveit, Kristoffer (2014). Statssekretærer i norsk politikk: De oversette maktutøverne. Norsk statsvitenskapelig tidsskrift. ISSN 0801-1745. 30(4), p. 233–255. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Statssekretærene er trolig den gruppen med mest politisk makt i Norge som vi vet minst om. I denne artikkelen forsøker vi å bøte på denne manglende kunnskapen. Med utgangspunkt i relevant teori og internasjonal forskning drøfter vi først hvorfor antallet politisk ansatte i departementene har økt, og hvilke roller statssekretærer kan tenkes å ha i regjeringer. Deretter studerer vi tre hovedspørsmål empirisk: For det første, har det vært en økning i antall statssekretærer fra 1945 til i dag? For det andre, hva slags sosial og politisk bakgrunn har statssekretærene, og har denne endret seg over tid? For det tredje, hvor omfattende er såkalt partipolitisk skygging, at man som statssekretær fra et annet parti kan gå ministeren nærmere etter i sømmene? For å belyse disse spørsmålene benytter vi i hovedsak tilgjengelige registerdata. Gjennomgangen viser at antallet statssekretærer i departementene har økt betraktelig de siste tiårene, samtidig som det har blitt færre politiske rådgivere. Når det gjelder statssekretærenes bakgrunn synes erfaring fra partiorganisasjonen å ha blitt viktigere over tid. Statssekretærenes rolle har også endret seg. I de studerte koalisjonsregjeringene har det blitt vanligere å ha statssekretærer fra et annet parti; det gjelder ikke lenger bare de viktigste departementene, men ser ut til å ha blitt normen i en rekke departementer. Overordnet kan disse utviklingstrekkene tyde på det er et økende behov for partipolitisk koordinering i norske regjeringer.

• Askim, Jostein; Eltun, Ragna & Fremstad, Eivind (2014). Mål- og resultatstyring. Riktig oppskrift for styring av statsforvaltningen? In Baldersheim, Harald & Østerud, Øyvind (Ed.), Det norske demokratiet i det 21. århundre. Fagbokforlaget. ISSN 9788245016147. p. 285–302. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Døving, Erik & Johnsen, Åge (2013). Evalueringspraksis i den norske statsforvaltningen 2005-2011. In Halvorsen, Anne; Madsen, Einar Lier & Jentoft, Nina (Ed.), Evaluering. Tradisjoner, praksis, mangfold. Fagbokforlaget. ISSN 9788245013313. p. 72–88. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Kapittelet argumenterer for at det er viktig å gjøre evaluering av offentlig politikk til gjenstand for forskning. De foreslår blant annet at en studerer nærmere hva som gjøres og hva som ikke gjøres til gjenstand for evaluering – og hvorfor, under hvilke rammebetingelser ulike evalueringer gjennomføres, og hva det legges vekt på. Med utgangspunkt i data fra Evalueringsportalen1 ser de nærmere på evalueringspraksis i statsforvaltningen og viser at det ikke er noen enhetlig praksis.

• Askim, Jostein (2013). Tilsyn ved selvsyn: Kan det fungere? Lærdommer fra den norske barnehagesektoren. Norsk statsvitenskapelig tidsskrift. ISSN 0801-1745. p. 10–29. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein R. & Baldersheim, Harald (2012). Policy Learning in Local Government: The Role of Reflexive Leadership. Croatian and Comparative Public Administration. ISSN 1848-0357. 12(2), p. 319–338. Full text in Research Archive

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• Askim, Jostein; Flo, Yngve; Holmøyvik, Eirik; Kolltveit, Kristoffer; Mangset, Marte & Rasch, Bjørn Erik (2024). Regjeringen: Historien, makten og hverdagen. Fagbokforlaget. ISBN 9788245040296. Full text in Research Archive
• Vabo, Signy Irene; Klausen, Jan Erling & Askim, Jostein (2020). Offentlig politikk. Universitetsforlaget. ISBN 9788215031958. 264 p. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Kolltveit, Kristoffer & Røe, Per Gunnar (2017). En smartere stat. Veier til bedre politikk og styring. Universitetsforlaget. ISBN 9788215027074. 203 p. Full text in Research Archive
• Klausen, Jan Erling; Askim, Jostein & Vabo, Signy Irene (2016). Kommunereform i perspektiv. Fagbokforlaget. ISBN 9788245018912. 323 p. Full text in Research Archive

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• Askim, Jostein; Kolltveit, Kristoffer & Rosen, Guri (2025). Innledning til valgspesial 2025. Norsk statsvitenskapelig tidsskrift. ISSN 0801-1745. 41(3), p. 95–95. doi: 10.18261/nst.41.3.1. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Bach, Tobias & Kolltveit, Kristoffer (2025). Helt greit med tidligere politikere i byråkratiske toppstillinger? Stat & Styring. ISSN 0803-0103. doi: https:/statogstyring.no/helt-greit-med-tidligere-politikere-i-byr%C3%A5kratiske-toppstillinger. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Når viktige byråkratstillinger skal besettes, reises av og til spørsmål om hva som er relevant ekspertise og om det er greit med bakgrunn fra politikken. Den kontroversielle utnevnelsen av Frank Bakke Jensen som Fiskeridirektør i 2021 er et eksempel på dette.

• Mangset, Marte; Weldehanna, Lisa & Askim, Jostein (2025). Is Norway caught up by revolving doors? A study of Norwegian ex-ministers’ careers between 1981 and 2021. Full text in Research Archive
• Mangset, Marte; Weldehanna, Lisa & Askim, Jostein (2025). Subtle shifts in sectorial power and party affinities: Post-ministerial careers in Norway 1965-2021. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein & Bach, Tobias (2025). Helt greit med tidligere politikere i byråkratiske toppstillinger? Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Flo, Yngve & Holmøyvik, Eirik (2024). Hva skjer om Jonas Gahr Støre må gå? Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein & Pedersen, Lene Holm (2024). Elite Sense-making in the Core Executive: The Case of Denmark's 2020 Minkgate Scandal. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein & Mangset, Marte (2024). Norske statsråder er ikke akkurat en kunnskapselite. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Kolltveit, Kristoffer; Rommetvedt, Hilmar & Valgermo, Jon Bøe (2024). Opposition in Government. Opinion Polls, Electoral Cycles, and the Partisan Distinctiveness Behaviour of Governing Parties. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Bach, Tobias & Kolltveit, Kristoffer (2023). Bureaucratic appointments, competence, and political responsiveness. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein (2023). Kunnskapsmakt på avveie: En kommentar til forholdet mellom politiet og Norsk Narkotikapolitiforening. Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift (NNT). ISSN 0800-336X. doi: 10.18261/nnt.40.4.4. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Bach, Tobias & Kolltveit, Kristoffer (2023). Bureaucratic appointments and perceptions of competence and political responsiveness: a paired experiment with bureaucrats, politicians, citizens, and journalists. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Rasch, Bjørn Erik; Flo, Yngve & Holmøyvik, Eirik (2023). Hvem skal kongen ringe om Støre må gå? Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein Rosfjord & Bach, Tobias (2022). Hvem er tjent med at Stoltenberg blir sentralbanksjef? 163(14), p. 30–31. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein Rosfjord; Bach, Tobias & Kolltveit, Kristoffer (2022). Bureaucratic appointments, competence, and administrative dilemmas: a paired experiment with bureaucrats, politicians, citizens, and journalists. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Døving, Erik & Johnsen, Åge (2022). Growth and decline of government evaluations since 1960: Evaluation waves, political change, policy reforms and economy. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein Rosfjord; Bach, Tobias & Kolltveit, Kristoffer (2021). Politisering av embetsverket: Introduksjon til et temanummer. Norsk statsvitenskapelig tidsskrift. ISSN 0801-1745. 37(4), p. 165–170. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-2936-2021-04-01. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein Rosfjord; Døving, Erik & Johnsen, Åge (2020). Evaluation in Norway: A 25-Year Assessment. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein (2019). Plyndrer de gamle kommunene de nye? Full text in Research Archive
• Flo, Yngve; Askim, Jostein; Vabo, Signy Irene; Aars, Jacob; Klausen, Jan Erling & Fimreite, Anne Lise (2019). Følgjeforskingsprosjekt kommune- og regionreforma. Ein presentasjon for embetsverket i KMD. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Prosjektgruppa presenterte hovudfunn frå prosjektet tett opp mot original sluttdato. Målgruppe: Delane i embetsverket i KMD som arbeider med høvesvis kommunereforma og regionreforma.

• Askim, Jostein (2019). Ellevill kjøpefest. [Journal]. Aftenposten. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Oppslag om økonomiske disposisjoner i sammenslåingskommuner. Innhold også distribuert gjennom NTB og Nynorsk pressekontor.

• Askim, Jostein (2019). Ville stoppe kjøpefest, droppet forslag om mottiltak. [Journal]. Aftenposten. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Intervju om økonomiske disposisjoner i sammenslåingskommuner. Askims funn lå til grunn for Aftenpostens lederartikkel 15.10.2019. URL viser til oppdatert nettversjon 15.10.2019.

• Flo, Yngve; Askim, Jostein; Vabo, Signy Irene; Fimreite, Anne Lise; Saglie, Jo & Aars, Jacob [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2019). Følgjeforskingsprosjekt kommune- og regionreforma. Eit presentasjon for embetsverket i KMD. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein & Houlberg, Kurt (2019). The behavioral effects of social norms on pre-merger overspending. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  There is strong support for the proposition that amalgamation reforms lead to common pool problems and incentivize local government units to overspend, or hoard, before the amalgamation is implemented. Variance in hoarding is poorly understood, though, and the existing literature offers limited help in understanding why some local governments do not hoard at all in the pre-amalgamation period, and why the hoarders do not hoard more than they do. The paper demonstrates that the rational logic to deplete the common pool is conditioned by a logic of appropriateness. Two hypotheses are tested with data from a survey experiment encompassing more than 3000 Norwegian local government councilors in the midst of nationally induced amalgamation considerations. Both hypotheses receive support: The propensity to hoard is higher when it is possible to use savings to finance the hoarding than when it is necessary to borrow money. The propensity to hoard is also higher when the others in the amalgam hoard than when they do not. The conclusion is that incentives to hoard in a pre-merger situation vary with different levels of social obligations vis-à-vis the amalgam.

• Klausen, Jan Erling; Askim, Jostein; Houlberg, Kurt & Glomsrud, Hans Rasmus (2018). Territorial Uncertainty and Hoarding. Last-Minute Spending in Local Governments Facing Amalgamations. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Klausen, Jan Erling; Houlberg, Kurt & Glomsrud, Hans Rasmus (2018). Territorial Uncertainty and Hoarding. Last-Minute Spending in Local Governments Facing Amalgamations. Full text in Research Archive
• Dooren, Wouter van; Askim, Jostein & Walle, Steven van de (2018). Thirty Years of Performance Research at the European Group of Public Administration. In Ongaro, Edoardo (Eds.), Public Administration in Europe. The Contribution of EGPA. Palgrave Macmillan. ISSN 9783319928562. p. 113–122. Full text in Research Archive
• Kolltveit, Kristoffer; Askim, Jostein & Karlsen, Rune (2018). Understanding Reputational Concerns within Government Agencies: The Importance of Individual Characteristics and Organizational Features. Full text in Research Archive
• Steen, Anton & Askim, Jostein (2018). 'Refugee-Settlement in a Decentralized Welfare State - from Soft Multi-Level Governance to Municipal Lobbying?' Paper to the ECPR General Conference, Section: Evaluating Policies of Immigrant Integration and their Outcomes. Panel:Great Expectations, Ambigious Goals and Multi Level Governance - The Outcome Gap Re-visited. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Houlberg, Kurt & Serritzlew, Søren (2018). How Government Agencies React to Termination Threats. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Vabo, Signy Irene & Klausen, Jan Erling (2017). Hvordan skal det gå med kommunereformen? Stat & Styring. ISSN 0803-0103. p. 10–15. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Houlberg, Kurt & Serritzlew, Søren (2017). How Government Agencies React to Termination Threats. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Klausen, Jan Erling & Vabo, Signy Irene (2016). Tvangstanker? p. 33–33. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Klausen, Jan Erling & Vabo, Signy Irene (2016). Kommunereform i perspektiv. In Klausen, Jan Erling; Askim, Jostein & Vabo, Signy Irene (Ed.), Kommunereform i perspektiv. Fagbokforlaget. ISSN 9788245018912. p. 15–21. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein (2015). Blir det noe av kommunereformen? Plan - tidsskrift for samfunnsplanlegging, regional- og byutvikling. ISSN 0805-083X. p. 10–13. Full text in Research Archive
• Kolltveit, Kristoffer; Askim, Jostein & Rose, Lawrence E (2014). Knowledge, wicked problems and multi-level government: Learning in the shadow of complexity. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The growing political science literature on wicked policy problems and multi-level government typically studies challenges related to coordination and democratic accountability. Without disputing the importance of these phenomena, this paper argues that the wicked issues literature should pay more attention to the learning aspect of policymaking: knowledge production, knowledge dissemination, and experience-based policy learning. And vice versa: The literature on learning in organizations and policy subsystems should pay more attention to learning in wicked problem processes. The limited dialogue between these literatures is surprising given that the need for information and learning must be assumed to extraordinarily high in awkwardly structured policy subsystems and issues with wicked characteristics. This paper discusses how prerequisites of ideal learning are challenged by characteristics of wicked problems and multi-level governance: the absence of shared problem frames within the policy subsystem, underdeveloped means-ends understandings, few common interests, lack of commitment to policy goals and improvement, and limits on opportunities for information exchange and reflection. Based on the theoretical exposition the paper formulates expectations about learning processes within three policy sectors in Norway – settlement of refugees, regional research policy, and urban development policy.

• Askim, Jostein; Klausen, Jan Erling & Vabo, Signy Irene (2014). Paradoxes of Amalgamation Reforms. Full text in Research Archive
• Steen, Anton & Askim, Jostein (2013). Paper: 'Multi-level governance of refugee settlement: Lessons from Norways failure'. Full text in Research Archive
• Steen, Anton & Askim, Jostein (2013). Paper: 'Policy-learning under multi-level governance and discrepant issue framing: Reflections based on the case of refugee-settlement in Norway'. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein & Steen, Anton (2013). Policy learning under multi-level governance and discrepant issue framing: Reflections based on the case of refugee re-settlement in Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein R.; Døving, Erik & Johnsen, Åge (2012). Evalueringspraksis i den norske statsforvaltningen 2005–2011. Full text in Research Archive
• Andersen, Dag Terje; Mæland, Monica; Lundteigen, Per Olaf; Hayley, Anita Henriksen; Aarli, Ragna & Askim, Jostein [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2023). Dokument 18 (2023-2024) Rapport fra Utvalget til å utrede prosedyren for grunnlovsendringer. Stortinget. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein & Kjærvik, Jonas (2015). Etatsstyring i forsvarssektoren: En analyse av mål- og resultatstyringen av Forsvarsdepartementets virksomheter. 7Letras. Full text in Research Archive
• Askim, Jostein; Christensen, Tom & Lægreid, Per (2014). Performance Management and accountability of welfare state agencies. The case of Norwegian hospitals, welfare and immigration administration. Ini Rokkan Centre. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper examines how administrative and managerial accountability are balanced in public sector performance management systems and how the formal affiliation between ministry and agency, and agency tasks affect this balance. The empirical base is a study of the management‐by‐objective‐and result arrangement in five Norwegian welfare state agencies. The paper reveals that there is not a tight coupling between the performance manage performance management model and how it works in practice; that there is a complex relationship between and administrative and managerial accountability and that performance management system is dependent on organizational factors.

• Askim, Jostein; Baldersheim, Harald; Klausen, Jan Erling; Renå, Helge; Smith, Eivind & Zeiner, Hilde Hatleskog (2013). Hvordan påvirker det statlige tilsynet kommunene og det lokale selvstyret? By- og regionforskningsinstituttet NIBR. ISSN 9788270719914. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Rapporten beskriver og vurderer det statlige tilsynets virkninger på kommunene og det lokale selvstyret. Disse virkningene vurderes i lys av regionale tilsynsmyndigheters praksis, styringen av tilsynet fra sentrale statlige sektormyndigheter og gjennom lovgivningen og forskriftsverket. Det gis anbefalinger om endringer av dagens ordning. Tilknyttet prosjekt Hvordan påvirker det statlige tilsynet kommunene og det lokale selvstyret?

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