Published: 2023-03-02

After completing the doctoral education PhD student Jonas Lundstedt will defend his thesis 17 March. Get a quick glimpse of his thesis, experiences and near future.

PhD Jonas Lundstedt with his supervisor Petter Lundborg, Professor in Economics. Photo: Anna Löthman

You are about to defend your thesis Essays in Education Economics. In short, what is your thesis about?

"The thesis consists of three self-contained papers in applied microeconomics with education as the common theme. The first chapter explores whether the information content of grades, in terms of the number of discrete points on the grading scale, affects the education outcomes of students. The second chapter examines students’ expectations about the signaling value of the institutional seal on their diploma. In the third chapter, I study the effect of student aid to parents on participation in higher education.

Over the last decades, research in social science has improved significantly thanks to better data and improvements in research design. The development of methods striving to emulate experimental designs have paved the way for identifying causal relationships when studying real-world behavior and outcomes. All three chapters in this thesis make use of such methods with the ambition to provide knowledge that is relevant to the development of the educational system."

In three words, how would you describe your years as a PhD student at LUSEM?

"Fun, challenging, and rewarding!"

What are you up to now?

"I’m working as an analyst at Universitetskanslersämbetet (UKÄ)."

Thank you, Jonas! Wishing you all the best!