About
Axel West Pedersen is professor at NOVA and the Department of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy, Oslo Metropolitan University. He is trained as a political scientist at the University of Aarhus and holds a PhD in Political and Social Science from the European University Institute in Florence. Pedersen’s research interests include historical-comparative studies of the development of pension systems, studies of welfare opinion, and studies of the consequences of welfare policies for income inequality and income poverty.
Fields of study
Academic disciplines
Subject areas
Distribution of Income Security Pension policy Welfare attitudes
Research groups
Research projects
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Children's Level of Living: The Impact of Family Economy for Children's Lives
The aim of the project was to explore how income influence different aspects of children's lives.
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Coping with Flexibility. Behavioral Adaptations to the New Pension System and their Consequences in a Lifetime Perspective
The aim of this project is to study how people adapt to the reformed pension system. In particular, we look at adaptations to the increasing flexibility offered – both in terms of savings, and in terms of job planning and ways of combining work and pension uptake.
-
Crisis Management in a Polycentric Nordic Local Democracy: Different Governance Structures – Different Results? (POLYGOV)
The overall goal of the project is to identify the differences in the Nordic countries’ handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the outcomes thereof and to relate these differences to policy, governance, organisation and management.
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New Pension System: Legitimacy, Behavioural Effects and Sustainability (PensjonsLAB)
A long-term research contract on the issues of old age pension and labour market activity among seniors financed by The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
-
Shades of Grey: Negotiating Age Norms, Class and Gender in the time of Pension Reform
How employers and employees maneuver under the new circumstances in The Norwegian pension reform.
-
The Work-retirement Transition
The project aims to investigate characteristics of the work-retirement transition and the factors contributing to when and how the transition takes place.
Publications and research
Scientific publications
Halvorsen, Elin; Pedersen, Axel West
(2022).
Bidrar folketrygdens pensjonssystem til inntektsutjevning i et livsløpsperspektiv?.
Søkelys på arbeidslivet
.
Vol. 39.
https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1504-7989-2022-01-02
Pedersen, Axel West (2021). Approaches to minimum-income protection in old age: comparing the three Scandinavian countries. Aidukaite, Jolanta; Hort, Sven E. O.; Kuhnle, Stein (Ed.). Challenges to the Welfare State: Family and Pension Policies in the Baltic and Nordic Countries. 10. p. 181-202. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Bay, Ann-Helén; Pedersen, Axel West
(2021).
The age profile of European welfare states. A source of intergenerational conflict?.
Falch-Eriksen, Asgeir; Takle, Marianne; Britt, Slagsvold (Ed.).
Generational Tensions and Solidarity Within Advanced Welfare States. p. 38-58.
Routledge.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2825698
Pedersen, Axel West; Schøyen, Mi Ah
(2021).
Welfare state redistribution between overlapping generations – normative theories applied to two contemporary debates.
Falch-Eriksen, Asgeir; Takle, Marianne; Britt, Slagsvold (Ed.).
Generational Tensions and Solidarity Within Advanced Welfare States. p. 19-37.
Routledge.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2825697
Kitterød, Hege; Grødem, Anne Skevik; Pedersen, Axel West
(2021).
Kjønnsgap i holdninger til pensjonssystemet – verdikamp eller økonomisk egeninteresse?.
Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning
.
Vol. 24.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2837913
Barth, Erling; Moene, Karl Ove (Kalle); Pedersen, Axel West
(2021).
Rising Inequality in the Egalitarian Nordics.
Fischer, Georg; Strauss, Robert (Ed.).
Europe's Income, Wealth, Consumption, and Inequality. 6. p. 219-246.
Oxford University Press.
http://hdl.handle.net/10852/90084
Kitterød, Ragni Hege; Pedersen, Axel West
(2020).
Deling av pensjonsrettigheter mellom ektefeller. Hva sier opinionen?.
Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning
.
Vol. 61.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2673795
Halrynjo, Sigtona; Kitterød, Ragni Hege; Pedersen, Axel West
(2019).
A woman’s cause? Popular attitudes towards pension credits for childcare in Norway.
European Journal of Social Security (EJSS)
.
Vol. 21.
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2612441
Bay, Ann-Helén; Hatland, Aksel; Pedersen, Axel West; Terum, Lars Inge (2019). Kapittel 1: Trygd, arbeid og aktivering. Bay, Ann-Helén; Hatland, Aksel; Hellevik, Tale; Terum, Lars Inge (Ed.). Trygd i aktiveringens tid. 1. p. 13-32. Gyldendal Akademisk.
Pedersen, Axel West (2019). Kapittel 14: Trygd og inntektsfordeling. Bay, Ann-Helén; Hatland, Aksel; Hellevik, Tale; Terum, Lars Inge (Ed.). Trygd i aktiveringens tid. 14. p. 269-292. Gyldendal Akademisk.
Koren, Charlotte; Pedersen, Axel West (2019). Kapittel 12: Inntektssikring i alderdommen. Bay, Ann-Helén; Hatland, Aksel; Hellevik, Tale; Terum, Lars Inge (Ed.). Trygd i aktiveringens tid. 12. p. 226-250. Gyldendal Akademisk.
Blekesaune, Morten; Dale-Olsen, Harald; Hellevik, Tale; Pedersen, Axel West (2019). Helsesvikt og arbeidsuførhet. Bay, Ann-Helén; Hatland, Aksel; Hellevik, Tale; Terum, Lars Inge (Ed.). Trygd i aktiveringens tid. Kapittel 10. p. 176-201. Gyldendal Akademisk.
Pedersen, Axel West; Hippe, Jon Mathias; Grødem, Anne Skevik; Sørensen, Ole Beier
(2018).
Trade unions and the politics of occupational pensions in Denmark and Norway.
Transfer - European Review of Labour and Research
.
Vol. 24.
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2563377
Halvorsen, Elin; Pedersen, Axel West
(2018).
Closing the gender gap in pensions: A microsimulation analysis of the Norwegian NDC pension system.
Journal of European Social Policy
.
Vol. 29.
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2485206
Pedersen, Axel West
(2017).
Norsk trygdepolitikk i internasjonalt perspektiv.
Stamsø, Mary Ann (Ed.).
Velferdsstaten i endring : Om norsk helse- og sosialpolitikk (3. utg). Kapittel 15. p. 382-401.
Gyldendal Akademisk.
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2466212
Pedersen, Axel West; Kuhnle, Stein
(2017).
The Nordic welfare state model.
Knutsen, Oddbjørn P. (Ed.).
The Nordic Models in Political Science : Challenged, but Still Viable?. Chapter 9. p. 219-238.
Fagbokforlaget.
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2466194
Bay, Ann-Helen; Finseraas, Henning; Pedersen, Axel West
(2016).
Welfare Nationalism and Popular Support for Raising the Child Allowance: Evidence from a Norwegian Survey Experiment.
Scandinavian Political Studies
.
Vol. 39.
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2470107
Finseraas, Henning; Pedersen, Axel West; Bay, Ann-Helén
(2016).
When the going gets tough: The Differential Impact of National Unemployment on the Perceived Threats of Immigration.
Political Studies
.
Vol. 64.
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2470494
Hagelund, Anniken; Pedersen, Axel West
(2015).
To Reform or Not to Reform? Explaining the Coexistence of Successful Pension Reform and Sick Pay Inertia in Norway.
Engelstad, Fredrik; Hagelund, Anniken (Ed.).
Cooperation and Conflict the Nordic Way : Work, Welfare, and Institutional Change in Scandinavia. Chapter 12. p. 220-242.
De Gruyter Open.
http://www.degruyter.com/viewbooktoc/product/46249...
Bay, Ann-Helén; Hagelund, Anniken; Pedersen, Axel West (2015). Trygdepolitiske dilemmaer: Effektivitet versus fordeling. Bay, Ann-Helén; Hagelund, Anniken; Hatland, Aksel (Ed.). For mange på trygd? : Velferdspolitiske spenninger. Kapittel 1. p. 11-37. Cappelen Damm Akademisk.
Barth, Erling; Moene, Karl Ove; Pedersen, Axel West (2015). Trygd og sysselsetting i et internasjonalt perspektiv. Bay, Ann-Helén; Hagelund, Anniken; Hatland, Aksel (Ed.). For mange på trygd? : Velferdspolitiske spenninger. Kapittel 7. p. 153-170. Cappelen Damm Akademisk.
Pedersen, Axel West; Finseraas, Henning; Schøne, Pål (2015). Økonomiske insentiver i trygdesystemet. Bay, Ann-Helén; Hagelund, Anniken; Hatland, Aksel (Ed.). For mange på trygd? : Velferdspolitiske spenninger. Kapittel 4. p. 78-106. Cappelen Damm Akademisk.
Bay, Ann-Helén; Pedersen, Axel West (2015). En velferdsstat (bare) for middelklassen?. Bay, Ann-Helén; Hagelund, Anniken; Hatland, Aksel (Ed.). For mange på trygd? : Velferdspolitiske spenninger. Kapittel 3. p. 61-75. Cappelen Damm Akademisk.
Bay, Ann-Helén; Pedersen, Axel West; Teigen, Mari
(2015).
En kvinnevennlig pensjonsreform? Likestillingsperspektiver i den norske pensjonsreformdebatten.
Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning
.
Vol. 18.
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2468791
Bay, Ann-Helén; Pedersen, Axel West; Finseraas, Henning
(2014).
Comfort in numbers? Social integration and political participation among disability benefit recipients in Norway.
European Journal of Social Security (EJSS)
.
Vol. 16.
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2467297
Pedersen, Axel West; Finseraas, Henning
(2013).
Arbeidsbetingede stønader - liberale virkemidler i arbeidslinjas verktøykasse.
Søkelys på arbeidslivet
.
Vol. 30.
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2466390
Pedersen, Axel West (2013). Levealdersjustering av alderspensjonen - økonomisk ansvarlighet og usosial populisme. Ketscher, Kirsten; Lilleholt, Kåre; Smith, Eivind; Syse, Aslak (Ed.). Velferd og rettferd : Festskrift til Asbjørn Kjønstad 70 år. Kapittel. p. 629-639. Gyldendal Juridisk.
Bay, Ann-Helén; Finseraas, Henning; Pedersen, Axel West
(2013).
Welfare Dualism in Two Scandinavian Welfare States: Public Opinion and Party Politics.
West European Politics
.
Vol. 36.
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2467457
Elstad, Jon Ivar; Pedersen, Axel West
(2012).
The Impact of Relative Poverty on Norwegian Adolescents' Subjective Health: A Causal Analysis with Propensity Score Matching.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH)
.
Vol. 9.
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2470493
Elstad, Jon Ivar; Pedersen, Axel West (2012). Fører dårlig familieøkonomi til flere subjektive helseplager blant ungdom?. Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning . Vol. 15.
