Kołakowski, for his part, did not return to Poland when his visiting fellowship ended soon afterward, but defected and became a leading critic of Marxist theory and practice and one of the intellectual fathers of Solidarity and the fall of Communism. 9  Myhre, Jan Eivind (2012): “Norsk historie 1814–1905: Å byggje ein stat og skape ein nasjon” [Norwegian history 1814–1905: Building a state and creating a nation]. 10  The level of trust in a society is influenced by many conditions. It may be that the recent years’ large migration flows are eroding the trust that has prevailed in Norway earlier. However, immigrants have in fact adopted surprisingly rapidly the level of confidence in their new home country. See also Dag Wollebæk (2013): Truer innvandringen tilliten? [Does immigration undermine trust? ], Article in Aftenposten. Alexander Cappelen and Bertil Tungodden at the Norwegian School of Economics are also working on these issues (see e.g. http://paraplyen.nhh.no/paraplyen/arkiv/2012/juni/tillitstesten/). See also Algan and Cahuc (2010): “Inherited Trust and Growth”, American Economic Review 100 (5), pp. 2060–92, who document a strong causal relationship between trust and economic prosperity. 11  Johannes Steen (1827–1906) was born in Christiania (now Oslo). After completing a higher degree in philology at the University of Christiania in 1848, Steen held a number of positions in the school system and was for many years the headmaster of the Stavanger Latin School. Steen was also a member of the Storting and prime minister.
Jan F Qvigstad: On institutions – fundamentals of confidence and trust Speech by Mr Jan F Qvigstad, Deputy Governor of Norges Bank (Central Bank of Norway), at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo, 12 November 2013. The text below may differ from the actual presentation. This speech does not contain assessments of the economic situation or current interest rate setting. *  *  *  I have received valuable assistance in drawing up this speech, in particular from Mike Bordo, Arne Jon Isachsen, John Llewllyn and Anders Vredin outside Norges Bank, and from Norges Bank staff; Øyvind Eitrheim, Amund Holmsen, Marie Norum Lerbak, Inka Rogne, Øystein Sjølie, Birger Vikøren and Jan Fredrik Øksendal. I would also like to thank Helle Snellingen for the translation into English. Institutions The concept institution has many meanings. For example, there is an important distinction between its meaning as an abstract concept and as a concrete one. The judicial system in Norway is an institution in an abstract sense, while the Supreme Court is concrete. The Norwegian Opera & Ballet is a concrete cultural institution within our more abstract cultural heritage. In my own field, the monetary system is abstract whereas Norges Bank is concrete.