Andreas Kotsadam is a senior researcher at the Frisch Centre and Affiliated researcher at ESOP and NoWeDe (UiO). He got his PhD in economics from Gothenburg University in 2011, and worked as a postdoc at the University of Oslo from 2011 to 2015.
Kotsadam received the stipend for a subproject of NoWeDe – Nordic Welfare Developments. NoWeDe is an interdisciplinary centre that studies the development of the Nordic welfare states. The project involves researchers from two different faculties and one research centre.
The intention of the subproject in question is to study whether variations in weather in Norway had an impact on people’s health. This is interesting because it allows the researchers to study the evolution of the Norwegian welfare state. Welfare states are characterized by social insurance. If bad weather – and thereby bad harvests – does not significantly impact people’s health, then a functioning system of weather insurance is in place. This serves as an indicator of the extent of the welfare state, and how well it functions.
The P.M. Røwde Foundation was formed in 1992 in commemoration of rubber magnate P.M. Røwde. It grants one or more stipends of 150 000 NOK each year to support research on Norwegian economic development.