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

LIE, EINAR

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.

EUROPEAN Economic Community; ECONOMISTS; EUROPEAN integration; EUROPEAN Union membership; NORWEGIAN politics & government, 1945-; TWENTIETH century; HISTORY; ECONOMICS; POLITICAL participation

Contemporary European History, 2015, Vol 24, Issue 2, p279

0960-7773

Academic Journal

10.1017/S0960777315000090