Growth, international trade and competition

Growth, international trade and competition

This research group examines the effects of competition, digitalisation and the data economy, as well as public sector actions such as policy run regulations and how they affect on company strategy, commercial innovations and market operations. One particular topic of interest is what opportunities are available through innovation-driven growth in Finland and what measures could be taken to promote growth. The group also studies how export companies become successful as well as trade policy changes and their economic effects.

  • Competition and regulation
  • Data economy
  • Green transition and climate change
  • Immigration
  • International trade, competitiveness and trade policy

Selected research

Research began 2024 Research ends 2024

This research project analyzes the activities and extent of compliance with the data regulation in Finland. The project utilizes registry data from Statistics Finland. The scope of companies' business activities is measured by turnover, value added, and the value

Research began 2023 Research ends 2024

In the scope of this research project, a comprehensive examination is conducted to assess the extent and economic significance of business subsidies pertaining to digitalisation and the green transition. The project involves a meticulous survey of information from public

Research began 2023 Research ends 2024

The utilisation of data offers opportunities for value creation and productivity growth in all sectors of the economy. New data-based companies and products, business models, value chains and public services appear, but very little is known about their economic

Research began 2022 Research ends 2024

The Finnish economy has experienced slow economic growth since the financial crisis in 2008. The business landscape and innovation patterns have changed in the past decade due to new sustainability goals arising from climate change and tightened competition for

Research began 2022 Research ended 2023

Economic growth and well-being depend crucially on productivity growth. In Finland, however, productivity has been weak over the past decade. According to a report published by the Finnish Productivity Board last September, one of the features that overshadows the

Research began 2021 Research ended 2022

Total emissions have decreased in the Finnish economy, and especially at the manufacturing industry. The purpose of this research project is to examine the association between emissions and evolution of manufacturing sector in Finland. In particular, we examine the

Research began 2021 Research ended 2022

The main aim of this research project is to strengthen the database on the business support scheme by providing information on business support introduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research project consists of seven sections. The

Research began 2021 Research ended 2022

Innovation ecosystems are recognized as playing an increasingly important role in the implementation of innovation and industry policies at national, regional and EU level. However, the assessment of the impact of ecosystems is complex and the assessment and measurement

Research began 2021 Research ended 2023

This research project examines the consequences of firm-level factors on export performance in Finland using a combination of firm and product-level data from both Finland and Sweden. It is interesting to compare the two countries, because Finland competes with

Research began 2021 Research ended 2022

Allocation of labor and capital investments has been one of the central questions in economics since Adam Smith’s an Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Recently, more attention has been paid to analyses that

Research began 2021 Research ended 2022

The aim of this research project is to find out geoeconomic threats and opportunities related to the Great-Power competition between China and the United States for the European Union and especially Finland, and to evaluate the related policy options.

Research began 2021 Research ended 2021

In Finland, investments to reform the economy and R&D investments in the economy in relation to GDP began to decline as early as the 2010s, and as a result, labor productivity began to decline. The market uncertainty caused by

Research began 2017 Research ended 2021

Etla started international trade and investments research at the end of 2017. The need for research has increased due to changes in trade on one hand and contract arrangements related activites and political pressures on the other. There are

Research began 2020 Research ended 2021

Understanding the overall economic impact of business subsidies is essential for planning effective aid policies and implementing economic policy measures. A successful business support policy can accelerate economic growth and improve competitiveness. On the other hand, subsidies can, in

Research began 2017 Research ended 2021

The consortium Tackling Biases and Bubbles in Participation (BIBU) builds a novel multidisciplinary research setting that explores the dynamics of citizenship in Finland. We study Finland as a testing ground for globalisation, exploring how worldwide changes affect citizens’ political

Research began 2020 Research ended 2021

The foreclosure system guarantees creditors that at least part of the debts will be paid back. On the other hand, a person with low-income loses significant portion of his or her income to foreclosure upon foreclosure, which weakens his

Research began 2019 Research ended 2020

Statistics Finland, Finlands Bank and Etla Economic Research have developed modeling based on nowcasting methods which are used to model certain monitored economic indicators using other, rapidly updated data sources. Tourism is a cyclical phenomenon where changes can be

Research began 2020 Research ended 2021

This study, carried out as a consortium between Aalto University, ETLA Economic Research, Finnish Institute for health and welfare and VATT Institute for Economic Research, assesses what costs in out-patient medicines, how the prices of medicines can be influenced

Research began 2019 Research ended 2020

The project comprises a comprehensive impact study shedding light on how Business Finland (BF) has succeeded in achieving the objectives associated with innovation and business subsidy funding and global network services. Compared to previous evaluations, the goal is further

Research began 2017 Research ended 2020

This project evaluates the impacts of Tekes R&D subsidies by answering to the following five questions: i) Have subsidized firms increased their R&D investments, and if yes to what extent, due to Tekes funding (i.e., input additionality)?, ii) Have

Research began 2019 Research ended 2019

The aim of the project is to evaluate the economic impacts of the EU’s FTAs on Finland. Trade agreements have a central role in ensuring economic growth and employment. The main purpose of the analysis is to study the

Research began 2018 Research ended 2019

The project studies the effects of firm subsidies on global competitiveness. The study will be conducted with a clear distinction between two different aspects of competitiveness: short-term cost competitiveness, and long-term structural competitiveness. The aim is to better perceive

Research began 2015 Research ended 2019

During the last two decades the costs of importing have decreased due to falling transport costs, improvements in information and communication technologies and liberalized foreign direct investment (FDI) regimes. In many industrialized countries, losses of manufacturing jobs, increasing wage

Research began 2017 Research ended 2019

The project focuses on the significance of immigrants to business dynamics and economic growth of Finland from both employment and productivity growth perspectives. Economic growth is, ultimately and above all, based on new ideas, which are converted into growth

Research began 2016 Research ended 2017

We construct an up-to-date study of the Chinese economy, its international role, and especially Finnish-Chinese Economic Relations. ETLA’s research team has previously done several studies on, e.g., Finland’s EU and EMU membership, Finnish-Russian Economic Relations, and Finnish-American Economic Relations.

Research began 2014 Research ended 2018

The project will be a comparative analysis of the development of labour productivity, wages and operating margins in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. The analyses will be based on comparative micro-level data, with a special focus on dynamics and

Research began 2014 Research ended 2016

The aim of the project is to understand the role of labor mobility as a mechanism that permits knowledge spillovers and creative destruction and, consequently, its importance for productivity growth in the Finnish industries. In addition to the implications

Research began 2015 Research ended 2017

There is an increasing unanimity in Finland, that the Finnish manufacturing sector has problems with its cost competitiveness. Roughly one half of it can be explained by increases in labour costs exceeding those of the competitors and another half

Research began 2015 Research ended 2016

The project assesses the use and business potential of big data in different sectors, potential for the development of big data and MyData applications as well as the legal framework for the provision of services in the public sector.

Research began 2016 Research ended 2017

The project aims at producing information on the cost-effective ways of promoting the use and effectiveness of open data. The first goal is to determine indicators and a model for assessing impacts and cost-effectiveness of opening up data (particularly

Research began 2016 Research ended 2018

Etla’s part in the project firstly focuses on the developments in personal data related hype-cycles and innovation in three selected domains that have been identified to have an exceptionally large near-term potential to generate value from data. Such data-intensive