1. Understanding policy change: Financial and fiscal bureaucracy in the Baltic Sea Region
Olga Mikheeva
Ragnar Nurkse Department of Innovation and Governance

2. Understanding policy change: Financial and fiscal bureaucracy in the Baltic Sea Region
Understanding micro-level practices and routines within public sector bureaucracy and organizations
Bridging the gap between macro- and meso-level research and that on micro-level
Focus on financial and fiscal bureaucracy (supervision of the financial sector and management / audit of government’s own finances)
To understand how policy ideas and implementation is intertwined
Case studies: Estonia, Latvia, Sweden and Norway + Lithuania + Southeast Asian context

3. Partners Norwegian research group:
Principal investigator Lars Mjøset, University of Oslo
Member of the research group Sjur Kasa, Hedmark University College, Bent Sofus Tranøy, Hedmark University College, Ingrid Hjærtaker, University of Oslo/Brown University
Previous studies on the Nordic varieties of capitalism (Lars Mjöset) and methodology (comparative historical case studies)
Estonian research group (TTÜ):
Project leader Rainer Kattel
Main participants Ringa Raudla, Aleksandrs Cepilovs, Egert Juuse, Olga Mikheeva

4. Project’s operational summary–
3 project 2-day workshops (Tallinn & Oslo)
3 PhD theses, 3 MA theses
2 summer school visits (UiO)
Adjustments in early 2016
Extension & enlargement of Estonian team
Extension of empirical base (Southeast Asian case, Lithuania)
Conference papers (2015 – 2017) + Special issue in the Journal of Baltic Studies (2017)

5. Objective To construct more holistic theoretical framework
Administrative dimension complementary to existing theoretical discussion
Analytical framework for understanding the evolution and impact of fiscal and financial bureaucracy
Empirical case studies of the five (+1) countries

6. Outcomes Interviews (semi-structured)  rich empirical data
Estonia 15
Latvia 19
Norway 13
Sweden 11
Lithuania
Southeast Asia 6
Publications (theoretical & empirical)
Advancing studies of fiscal and financial bureaucracy (analytical framework & typologies)
Interconnection between ideas, institutions and discources (incl. policy learning, process of Europeanisation)
Administrative dimension to further detect / explain causal mechanisms
Interdependence between Eastern and Nordic states in the Baltic region (Baltic-Nordic financial stability partnership, Sweden vs Norway)
Historical lesson-drawing (Nordic crisis of the ‘90s)

7. Thank you.