Growth, international trade and competition

Growth, international trade and competition

Research examines the role of competition in the economy. The focus is on the functioning of the markets and the impact of regulation and public sector activity on market dynamics. The programme provides a large amount of empirical analysis based on firm- and individual-level data on the competitive strategies of companies, barriers to entry in the market and the impact of public policy on competition and the operation of companies.

Personnel of the research group

Koski, Heli

Koski, Heli

Research Director

heli.koski@etla.fi

050 466 3214

Competition, innovation, data economy

Maczulskij, Terhi

Maczulskij, Terhi

Chief Research Scientist

terhi.maczulskij@etla.fi

050 323 0180

International trade in goods...

Kässi, Otto

Kässi, Otto

Researcher

otto.kassi@etla.fi

050 532 3518

Labour markets, digital economy...

Valmari, Nelli

Valmari, Nelli

Researcher

nelli.valmari@etla.fi

+358 40 755 6950

Productivity, product markets.

Selected research

Research began 2023 Research ends 2024

The Impacts of the Data Economy

The utilization 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 are generated, but very little is known about their

Research began 2022 Research ends 2024

Innovation-led Pathways to Economic Growth

The Finnish economy has witnessed slow economic growth since the financial crisis in 2008. The business landscape and innovation patterns have changed during the past decade, e.g., through the new sustainability goals arising from climate change and tightened competition

Research began 2022 Research ends 2023

Differences in corporate productivity and the forefront of productivity

Economic growth and well-being depend crucially on productivity growth. In Finland, however, the 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

Research began 2021 Research ends 2023

What explains differences in firm-level export performance?

This research project examines the consequences of firm-level factors on export performance in Finland. The project utilizes combined firm and product-level data from both Finland and Sweden. Sweden is an interesting comparison country, because Finland competes – at least

Research began 2021 Research ended 2022

Manufacturing and mitigating climate change

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

Evaluation of the COVID-19 pandemic aid policy

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

Assessment of the impact of innovation ecosystems and indicators

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 2022

Capital and labor (mis)allocation

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

Europe Facing Great-Power Competition

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

Impact of R&D tax deductions on companies’ R&D investments and innovations

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

International trade and investments

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

Overall economic impacts of business subsidies

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

Tackling Biases and Bubbles in Participation (BIBU)

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

Foreclosure debt, social security and labor supply

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

Nowcasting model for tourism

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

What costs in medicine?

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

Impact Study of Global Growth for Companies (Etlatieto Oy)

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

Evaluation of the impacts of Tekes R&D subsidies

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 economic impact of EU’s free trade agreements on Finland

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

Firm subsidies and global competitiveness

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

The effects of international trade and economic integration on individuals and firms

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

Immigrants, Business Dynamics and Economic Growth

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

Development Prospects of Finnish-Chinese Economic Relations

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

Staying Competitive

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

Labour mobility as a mechanism of spillovers and creative destruction [Completed]

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

Competitiveness and product variety

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

Mobilising big data potential for business and efficient public services [Completed]

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

Efficient utilisation of open data [Completed]

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

Personal data management platforms

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

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