History
The ESO was established in 1981 as an independent think tank under the Ministry of Finance, with the task of formulating and seeking answers to questions of major importance for public economics.It was closed down in June 2003, and re-established in December 2007. In total, over 200 reports have been published in the ESO’s publication series.
When the ESO was closed down, a new group focusing on environmental studies, the Expert Group for Environmental Studies (EMS), was set up. It is still active today.In 2004 an internal working group, the Expert Group for Economic Studies (ESS), was formed in the Ministry of Finance with a similar remit to the ESO’s previous remit, although the aspect of political independence was not particularly emphasised.The working group closed down in the summer of 2007 having published a total of 11 reports.