Anders Borg: Pay Strong Attention to Studies if You Want to Have a Good Life
Anders Borg, the Swedish Minister for Finance gave a lecture on ‘An Open and Dynamic Economy’ at the HSE during his visit to Moscow. He gave a special interview to the HSE portal.
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— Mr. Borg, you studied economics, politics and philosophy at the beginning of your career. These are core subjects at the HSE. You became the Minister for Finance in 2006 and were named the best European Financial Minister in 2011. How useful was it to study these subjects?
Anders Borg
— I think economics and political science, history and philosophy are core subjects for anybody who wants to understand society. Whether you are going to work in the private sector, private banking or central banking, or even work with fiscal policy, an academic knowledge of these subjects is very important.
— How do you see future cooperation between universities in Sweden and Russia and particularly between the HSE and Swedish universities?
— We have a very good level of cooperation between students of Sweden and Russia. When I did my graduate studies in Stockholm University there were quite a lot of Russians coming there. Hopefully we can increase this exchange. We are very happy to have such good cooperation with academic institutions in Russia.
— What’s your view on the financial crisis?
— It’s not over yet. We are hopeful that we will see a global recovery. But even with Asian and other markets emerging there is still some very substantial political uncertainty remaining in Southern Europe. There are obviously the problems of the Italian elections, as well as some uncertainties about the banking situation in Spain. The situation in Greece is also unclear: whether the government is able and willing to fulfill their commitments or not. I do think that there are some potential stumbling blocks along the way and we should be cautious about the risks.
— Mr. Borg, you call yourself a feminist. Could you, please, share your views on this problem?
— I think that a society where everybody has equal opportunities is a good society. A society where women have the same access to the job market, to academic circles, and to political leadership is a better society. A society that is equal is better both for men and women.
— How would you describe modern youth?
— I hope most students pay strong attention to their studies. I think that if you want to have a good life and a position on the labor market, you should pay attention during mathematics classes and economics classes. You should work hard and build a better future for yourself.
Anna Chernyakhovskaya, specially for HSE news service.
Photo: Johan Ödmann
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