Etla » competitiveness

Competitiveness and future challenges of Pohjois-Savo – A report for The Regional Council of Pohjois-Savo (in Finnish with English abstract and summary)

Martti Kulvik — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 11:00:00 +0000

The turnover of the companies in North Savo in 2011 was nearly 10 billion euros, of which industry accounted for just under a third. The industrial structure of the region is not strong, but on the other hand it is not alarmingly thin either, because it does have certain successful niches. North Savos production and export growth has been on par with the average of other regions. The region is specialized in forestry and machinery industries as well as food production. The forest and machinery industries are export-oriented. Promising growth businesses include biopharmaceutical research, testing and production. These segments will be the engines of growth for the region in the future. In the forest industry the wood products industry is strong and its special products, such as heat treated wood, glue-laminated timber and hardwood floors, are selling well. Pulp and paper production have suffered losses, but the carton is in demand. In the machinery industry, power plant boilers, forestry tractors and mining machinery are global successes. Their production networks include a considerable number of local sub-contractors. Counterflow strategies will be the key to future development. The forest industry will evolve into a biotechnology industry, where decentralized local bio-oil production instead of large plants will play a large role. Clusters can be built around wooden apartment buildings. The key skills of the machinery industry should be kept as Savos own secret, but the network of services and output should go global. In addition to timber, milk is one of the regions precious raw materials, the production of which should be safeguarded in the future. Research can facilitate processing of milk and timber into more lucrative products with higher value-added. Fresh, local and organic food production can be promoted via entrepreneurial training, product development, and use of competitive bidding in purchases of fresh food products by public institutions. Development of the pharmaceutical industry is following a dual strategy : the development of the biopharmaceutical industry is based on synergies and investing in research, entrepreneurship and the raising of risk capital. Neighbouring Russia is investing in the development of its pharmaceutical industry. Kuopios medical cluster could participate by helping in the development of medicines, approval process, manufacturing and packaging, as well as marketing to Western markets. Industrial development requires close-knit co-operation with government departments. The University of Eastern Finland, the Savonia University of Applied Sciences, vocational schools, research institutes and laboratories, Kuopio University Hospital and the Finnish Medicines Agency as well as authorities responsible for business development and funding are key players is this development.

JEL: R11, D28, R53,L52, L73,L 66, L61,L62, L64, L65
Publication year: 2012
Pages: 92
Price: 10€
Language: Finnish
Discussion Papers no. 1281

Price Formation and Market Functionality of Foodstuffs

Heli Koski — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:00:00 +0000

The study analyses the price formation and market functionality of the Finnish food chain. A significant portion of the report consists of international comparisons. The main comparison countries are the so-called old EU countries (EU15) of Western Europe, the new EU countries (EU12) and the United States. Comparisons are also made with individual countries. After the international comparisons, the price formation of the food chain, degree of concentration, competition, and the position of small producers is analysed for Finland in more detail. The main findings of the study are as follows : 1) a significant reason for the high price of foodstuffs in Finland is the high VAT, 2) the price level without VAT was in 2005 a couple of per cent higher and in December 2009 about 7 per cent higher than the average in the old EU countries, but it is considerably higher than in the new EU countries and the United States, 3) In Finland the price level of food-stuffs is elevated by the weak agricultural competitiveness (northern location and small farm size); on the other hand, the competitiveness of the foodstuffs industry and the wholesale and retail trade is rather good, 4) measured in terms of price-cost margins, competition works in Finland just as well in agriculture, the foodstuffs industry and the wholesale and retail trade as it does in the food chain of the comparison countries, 5) the large share of the wholesale and retail trade in the Finnish food chain is attributable to higher transport costs than in the comparison countries, 6) in Finland the prices of foodstuffs have moved in the same direction as in comparison countries, albeit with a lag of a few months; in 2009 the prices of dairy products, butter and margarine, meat, fish products and food products nevertheless fell by considerably less than in the comparison countries and less than the development of producer prices would have indicated, 7) the foodstuffs industry and the wholesale and retail trade are concentrated sectors; enterprises nevertheless compete with each other and with imports, 8) the degree of concentration, agreement practices and price development should be monitored especially in product groups where consumer prices have not fallen in line with a decline in producer prices, 9) access of small producers to markets is important from the standpoint of competition and consumer choice; the position of small producers can best be improved by fostering the exchange of information within the chain.

JEL: C50, L1, L4, L66, L81, Q11, Q13
Publication year: 2010
Pages: 129
Price: 10€
Language: Finnish
Discussion Papers no. 1209

EU:n rahoituskehykset – Suomen asema seuraavalla kehyskaudella 2014-2020

Hannu Kaseva — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:00:00 +0000

The study analyses the financial framework of the European Union in 2014-2020 and the prospects of Finland in this framework. The study is structured according to budget headlines the most central of which are the natural resources (agriculture and rural development), cohesion (regional and structural policies), and competitiveness. Scenarios concerning the future are built upon alterna-tive developments in the composition of the budget. The development of Finlands net payment posi-tion is analysed using different assumptions of GDP growth. A central assumption in most scenarios is the fact that the budget shares of the natural resources and regional and structural policies will decline substantially, also giving room to cut the size of the budget. According to our study, Finland will be able to adjust to the changes in the structure of the budget. In the case of agriculture, an increase in the size of farms, productivity growth, and especially the assumed continued national agricultural support will have an outcome that the level of agricultural output does not change substantially. In regional policy, a decrease in the growth of or cuts in EU regional subsidies can be compensated for by na-tional subsidies. The pressures for adjustment which Finland will face during the future financial framework will be decreased because during the current financial period Finland already experienced many adjustments. Finland will be able to respond to the growth of funding under the competitiveness headline, if the country will be able to develop capabilities to apply for research and other competi-tiveness funding.

JEL: O52, F53, F55, H87, Q18, R58, I28
Publication year: 2009
Pages: 102
Price: 10€
Language: Finnish
Discussion Papers no. 1207

Cost Competitiveness of Chinese and Finnish Chemical Industries

admin — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:00:00 +0000

This study focuses on the labour cost competitiveness of the chemical industries in China and Finland in particular, using the corresponding German, the US and Estonian industries as a point of comparison in the early 2000s. This study deepens the analysis of the earlier study of the cost competitiveness of the manufacturing industries in the same group of countries. Separate studies focusing on the labour cost competitiveness are carried out in a parallel manner on the fabricated metal industries and paper industries. The results of these three sector studies deepen the knowledge about the change of competitiveness and its level. Large unit labour cost differences in a common currency were obviously a key factor behind exceptionally rapidly changing international production and trade structures in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Chinese chemicals and chemical products and rubber and plastic products industries grew by 21 and 23 per cent per year in 2000-2007 as the average annual growth of the value added of world manufacturing volume was only 3 per cent in 2000-2006. Nominal wages as such do not imply good international competitiveness. Chinese wages are, however, low even if the Chinese low labour productivity is taken into account and costs per unit of production are compared in a common currency. The relative levels of the Chinese unit labour costs vis-à-vis Germany, using the unit value ratios (UVR) to make the production volumes comparable, were estimated to be about 6 and 2 per cent in the chemicals and chemical products and rubber and plastic products industries, respectively. In the case of the chemicals and chemical products industry, the ratio has even declined in the course of the 2000s, while in the rubber and plastic products industry it has been stable. Improving labour productivity in China had compensated for the effects of rapidly rising wages and an appreciating Renminbi Yuan in the case of the chemicals and chemical products industry and it had even more than compensated for it in the case of the rubber and plastic products industry.

Publication year: 2008
Pages: 46
Price: 10€
Language: English
Discussion Papers no. 1171

Cost Competitiveness of Chinese and Finnish Fabricated Metal Industries

admin — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:00:00 +0000

This study focuses on the labour cost competitiveness of fabricated metal industry in China and Finland in particular, using the corresponding German, the US and Estonian industries as a point of comparison in the early 2000s. This study deepens the analysis of the earlier study of the cost competitiveness of the manufacturing industries in the same group of countries. Separate studies focusing on the labour cost competitiveness are carried out in a parallel manner on the paper and pulp and metal industries. The results of these three sector studies deepen the knowledge about the change of competitiveness and its level. Large unit labour cost differences in a common currency were obviously a key factor behind exceptionally rapidly changing international production and trade structures in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Chinese fabricated metal industry grew by about 22 per cent per year in 2000-2007 as the average annual growth of the value added of world manufacturing volume was only 3 per cent in 2000-2006. Nominal wages as such do not imply good international competitiveness. Chinese wages are, however, low even if their low labour productivity is taken into account and costs per unit of production are compared in a common currency. The relative levels of the Chinese unit labour costs vis-à-vis Germany, using the unit value ratios (UVR) to make the production volumes comparable, were estimated to be about 2 per cent in the fabricated metal industry. The ratio has even declined in early 2000s and has stayed relatively stable after that till 2007. Improving labour productivity in China had compensated for the effects of rapidly rising wages and an appreciating Renminbi. The outlook of the fabricated metal industry is clouded by the difficult global financial crisis, which strongly restricts export possibilities and dampens also the domestic markets of industry. On the other hand the stimulus packages of the government target especially the key demand sectors of the fabricated metal industry.

Publication year: 2008
Pages: 38
Price: 10€
Language: English
Discussion Papers no. 1172

Cost Competitiveness of Chinese and Finnish Paper and Paper Product Manufacturing

admin — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:00:00 +0000

This study focuses on the labour cost competitiveness of the paper and pulp industry in China and Finland in particular, using the corresponding German, the US and Estonian industries as a point of comparison in the early 2000s. This study deepens the analysis of the earlier study of the cost competitiveness of the manufacturing industries in the same group of countries. Separate studies focusing on the labour cost competitiveness are carried out in a parallel manner on the chemical industries and metal industries. The results of these three sector studies deepen the knowledge about the change of competitiveness and its level.

Large unit labour cost differences in a common currency were obviously a key factor behind exceptionally rapidly changing international production and trade structures in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Chinese paper and pulp industry grew by about a quarter per year in 2000-2007 as the average annual growth of the value added of world manufacturing volume was only 3 per cent in 2000-2006. Nominal wages as such do not imply good international competitiveness. Chinese wages are, however, low even if their low labour productivity is taken into account and costs per unit of production are compared in a common currency. The relative levels of the Chinese unit labour costs vis-à-vis Germany, using the unit value ratios (UVR) to make the production volumes comparable, were estimated to be about 9 per cent in the paper and pulp industry. The ratio has even declined in the early 2000s and has stayed relatively stable after that until 2007. Improving labour productivity in China had compensated for the effects of rapidly rising wages and an appreciating Renminbi. The outlook of the paper and pulp industry, like the economy in general, is clouded by the difficult global financial crisis, which strongly restricts export possibilities and dampens also the domestic markets of industry. On the other hand, the stimulus packages of the government support the demand for paper and pulp products.

Publication year: 2008
Pages: 50
Price: 10€
Language: English
Discussion Papers no. 1173