Tomas Hostad Løding

The project investigates a growing contact surface between the Norwegian Public sector and international financial markets. In opposition to many other western governments, Norway is not struggling under the pressure from international rating agencies and credit institutions. With our vast natural gas, oil and hydropower resources we are not forced into the state of permanent austerity that we see in so many other developed states today. But even here financial market practices are being adapted into all levels of the public sector. Why? Using qualitative interviews and document analysis I study how Norwegian municipalities reorganize their strategic thinking regarding management of local governments biggest long term asset: its ownership to Norway`s big and wealthy hydropower production sector. I argue that this constitutes a process of financialization, and that the Norwegian public sectors use and strategic understanding of themselves as financial investors opens up a good vantage point to evaluate questions of public sector financing, democratic accountability and the broader process of neoliberal restructuring.