Norwegian version

Centre for Welfare and Labour Research

Centre for Welfare and Labour Research (SVA) is Norway's largest centre for social science research, and is made up of four institutes and two topic specific centres.

Featured research from the SVA institutes

Norwegian royal palace facade with the royal family on the balcony and graduating high schoolers walking and crawling on the ground in a parade dressed in red or blue "russ" outfits.
The Norwegian graduation celebration that bonds and divides students

To mark the end of 13 years of education, Norway’s high school graduates participate in a celebration characterized by unique outfits, and bedazzled buses.

pile of clothes, female arms and hands holding clothes
Sustainable fashion or plastic pollution? A closer look at industry strategies

The fashion industry bears responsibility for the waste generated by synthetic clothing – even though the blame is often directed at consumers, according to researchers.

Close-up of a girls face, painted with a map of the European continent, and with striking eyes.
Europe move towards more restrictive, selective and temporary refugee policies

Over the past decade, European countries have grown more restrictive in whom they grant protection, and for how long that protection is granted.

The centre of Oslo seen from the Ekeberg hillside with Bjørvika and Barcode in the foreground.
Oslo, the divided city

A deep socioeconomic divide splits Oslo from east to west. It will continue to deepen unless it is more widely acknowledged and addressed.

boy playing Fortnite
Buying popularity: how children are influenced by in-game spending

Kids risk being bullied or isolated if they don’t spend money on skins or equipment. Researchers have mapped how young people get manipulated into spending money while gaming.

woman dressed in black fixing a bike
Extending product life yields a greater environmental impact than any other measure

Sustainable consumption should not be reduced to reuse and recycling, according to SIFO researchers.

Silhouette of people at an airport departure hall.
Norway is lovely, so why are people leaving?

The people who leave can have as much impact on a country as those who come in. Yet not much is known about Norway's 30,000 annual emigrants.

An adolescent girl busy using her phone.
Norwegian youth have handled the pandemic well

In spite of the challenges that have accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic, most Norwegian teenagers report high levels of life satisfaction.