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Masters and Servants: Economists and Bureaucrats in the Dispute over Norwegian EEC Membership in 1972

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2015

EINAR LIE
EINAR LIE*
Affiliation:
Universitetet i Oslo, P.O. Box 1008, Blindern, 0315 OSLO, Norway; einar.lie@iakh.uio.no
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Abstract

In the dispute over Norwegian EEC membership in 1972, a large number of economists in academic life and public administration took part in organised opposition against future membership. Their efforts to prevent economic and financial integration with the Common Market are important for understanding the depth and strength of Norwegian Euroscepticism. This article shows how this scepticism was rooted in the economic profession's reasoning about economic planning and economic policy making. Special attention is given to the opposition from economists within the government apparatus itself, as this both diminished the authority of the government's pro-membership arguments and challenged norms regulating civil servants’ conduct.

Type
Articles
Information
Contemporary European History , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , May 2015 , pp. 279 - 300
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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References

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