ESO

The Expert Group on Public Economics (ESO) consists of eight members (the board) supported by a secretariat. Formally, ESO is a committee attached to the Ministry of Finance.

ESO’s responsibility is to expand and deepen the knowledge base available for future economic and fiscal policy decisions (ToR 2007:46). The assignment is primarily fulfilled by commissioning researchers and institutions to carry out studies that are published in ESO’s publication series and on ESO’s website. ESO also stimulates debate by organising seminars and workshops.
A distinguishing feature of ESO’s work is its independence, i.e. all activities are undertaken independently of political considerations. ESO’s terms of reference are generally framed to give the board broad scope to autonomously decide where the focus should lie. At the same time, the authors are solely responsible for any conclusions stated in the ESO reports.