An important election for the economy

Barry B White, the United States Ambassador to Norway, visited NHH on 16 October. He talked to students and staff about American politics and the upcoming presidential election.

02.11.2012 - Hanna Sommerstad

On 16 October, the American ambassador gave a guest lecture for students taking the course International Trade and Economic Growth (SAM030).

He also held a lunch seminar for some of the academic staff.

White has a background as a lawyer and was educated at Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He has been the United States Ambassador to Norway since 2009.

'The upcoming American election will be very important to both the US economy and the global economy', White said.

He referred to the fact that the two presidential candidates, the incumbent president Barack Obama (Democrat) and contender Mitt Romney (Republican), have very different approaches to how to stimulate growth in the American economy.

The voters are concerned about the economy

Issues relating to the economy top the list of issues American voters are most concerned with when they go to the polls on 6 November this year.

White said that the most important election issues are now employment, the budget, tax policy, social security and various welfare and insurance schemes relating to health.

'The opposition believes that Obama's biggest political mistake is that he has focused too much on the health care reform and too little on the economy,' said the Ambassador.

White himself, however, thinks that the President has focused a lot on the economy and employment during his presidency, and that the health care reform will also have a positive effect on the economic programmes that Obama has introduced.

'The biggest difference between the USA and many European countries is the extent of government intervention in the economy. In Europe, and Norway in particular, we see that the government intervenes to a far greater extent than in the USA,' White said.

The US Ambassador to Norway, Barry White, visited NHH 16 October.