Highly-motivated Economics PhD with experience of economic & regulatory policy-making gained at the highest levels of European politics. Effective communicator with a proven track record in academic and professional writing, public speaking, and lecturing.
Overview
7
7
years of professional experience
11
11
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Political secretary
Haninge Municipality
Haninge
02.2025 - Current
Responsible for policy development and research for the Sweden Democrats, a party which forms part of the governing coalition in the municipality of Haninge (population 100 000) in the Stockholm region.
Have developed innovative, never-before-implemented policies on diverse areas ranging from transparency to social welfare, integration, education, and wildlife management.
Responsible for planning and revamping campaign strategy for the election next year, and for training activists.
Policy researcher & ghostwriter
European Conservatives and Reformists
Remote
04.2022 - Current
Ghostwriter and policy researcher for the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, working as an independent service provider.
Conducted a research and policy development project focused on how to stem the growth of EU bureaucracy. As part of this project I evaluated the recently introduced 'one in, one out' regulation framework by the European Commission and formulated a more efficient alternative for regulatory offsetting.
Political commentator
Multiple
Remote
11.2020 - Current
Frequent contributor to the National Reviewand the Dispatch, contributing 1-2 long-form commentary pieces per month to each magazine. Author profiles: https://www.nationalreview.com/author/john-gustavsson/ and https://thedispatch.com/author/john-gustavsson/
Full-time columnist at Bulletin, a Swedish online newspaper. Columns are routinely among the top five most read pieces on the site in any given day.
Cover topics spanning economic and regulatory strategies, financial policy, and the political landscape within Europe.
Senior research executive
Verian Group
Brussels, Belgium
10.2023 - 07.2024
Played a key role in a team that developed a handbook for the European Commission and tax authorities in three member states, applying behavioural economics to enhance tax compliance.
Improved data accuracy by introducing new measures to identify and address inattentive participants in surveys and experiments.
Gave presentations and met with clients.
Lecturer in Economics
DIS Stockholm
Stockholm, Sweden
01.2022 - 05.2023
Taught 'Economics of gender', an intermediate-level college course, during the spring terms of 2022 & 2023 at DIS, a non-profit study abroad foundation.
Responsible for designing syllabus and learning objectives, as well as for planning field studies.
Instruction was provided exclusively in English.
Accredited parliamentary assistant
European Parliament
Brussels, Belgium
07.2019 - 12.2020
Worked as policy adviser-grade accredited parliamentary assistant as part of a small, multi-disciplinary team of APAs for an elected Member of the European Parliament (MEP).
Worked with a wide variety of political issues and areas, mostly related to economic, financial and energy policy. Examples include the European Green Deal, the Single Resolution Mechanism and the European Investment Bank.
Responsible for providing legislative vote recommendations based on available evidence and MEP's political goals, as well as evaluating and drafting new policy proposals.
Drafted and developed two separate policy proposals that subsequently passed.
Performed extensive secondary research on political topics, with a focus on economic and regulatory policies, and delivered briefs & presentations on findings
Met and corresponded with stakeholders including voters and party officials as well as special interest groups.
Responsible for speech writing and for coaching MEP ahead of interviews and debates.
Political secretary
Örebro Municipality
Örebro, Sweden
01.2019 - 07.2019
Worked as a political secretary for Örebro municipality (population 150,000) on behalf of a political party.
Responsible for policy evaluation and for developing the party's local economic policies at a time when Örebro was one of the most indebted municipalities in Sweden.
Developed a number of policy proposals to tackle the debt crisis, including a proposal to establish an innovative municipal crowdfunding system for the local cultural and creative sectors that would have replaced some of the municipal funding.
Developed a proposal to increase transparency and accountability by making it easier for taxpayers to find out how much money they as individuals paid towards different (municipal) spending areas.
Developed a proposal, based on behavioural economic research, that aimed to reduce waste and over-use of public resources through a targeted information campaign that would inform inhabitants of the full cost of the free and subsidised services provided by the municipality (thus hopefully discouraging overuse).
Played a key role in the local party’s election efforts for the 2018, 2022, and 2024 campaigns
Political secretary
Örebro Municipality
Örebro, Sweden
01.2018 - 04.2018
Employed remotely as a part-time political secretary on a four-month contract, assisting the Örebro chapter of a political party in preparation for the upcoming election.
Duties involved planning the election campaign, advising on the party's messaging, and formulating policy proposals aligned with the campaign's objectives.