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None of the chapters of my thesis "Essays on Discrimination and Corruption" deals directly with my country of origin, Argentina. However, I would claim that my origins have had an enormous influence on my view of institutions and individuals. My thesis deals with different problems but it has a unifying factor, the need to question whether agents act the way they are supposed to act. In my papers, governments try to have more influence than they should and to get as much personal benefit as possible from being in power. Individuals harm the welfare of other individuals just because they are different and vulnerable. I am the first to acknowledge that Sweden has been enormously generous in receiving refugees since the 70s and is still one of the countries receiving most refugees and with the most favourable attitudes towards immigrants in Europe. But not even Sweden has managed to completely avoid discrimination. Reading newspapers and listening to other immigrants/refugees suggest that even here, immigrants may face more difficulties than natives.

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Gisela Waisman is a researcher at the Department of Economics, Stockholm University, and affiliated to the Stockholm University Linnaeus Center for Integration Studies.

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