Etla - research to support policy-making

Research activities focus on two thematic areas

The Impact of Economic Policy. The aim is to produce information on how economic policy can promote competition between companies and operating conditions in Finland and improve the competitiveness of Finnish production on the world market.

The Impact of Major Movements (Megatrends). The research focuses on the effects of key major movements (megatrends) on the operating conditions of business sector and the preconditions of Finland’s economic policy.

Research is carried out in four research groups

ETLA Economic Research is engaged in applied economic research with emphasis on questions central to the Finnish economy and business sector.

Labour market and education

Labour market and education

The focus of labour market and education research is the transformation in work and adaptation to it. Technological development, globalization and demographic change affect the labor market in many ways and pose challenges to labor force and education policy. The research group comprehensively investigates these phenomena.

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Growth, international trade and competition

Growth, international trade and competition

The research examine the effects of competition, digitalization and the data economy, as well as public sector actions such as regulation and innovation and competition policy, on companies’ strategies, innovations and market operations. The subject of interest is especially the possibilities of innovation-driven growth in Finland and what kind of measures can be taken to promote growth. The research targets are also the background factors of the success of export companies as well as trade policy changes and their economic effects.

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Macroeconomy and public finances

Macroeconomy and public finances

The main focus of public finance research is on issues related to the financing of social security and the division of labour between the private and public sectors. In the analysis of the economic policy, the sustainability of the public finances and the creation and evaluation of related operational strategies, are emphasized. The research subjects of macroeconomy are the development of the overall economy in Finland and in the world and its effects on Finnish business life.

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Business renewal

Business renewal

The research deals with the renewal of companies, industries and the national economy. Discontinuities and transitions related to globalization, technological development and company structures are often the focus of interest. Almost every project involves cooperation with companies or other stakeholders.

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Selected research

Research began 2023 Research ends 2024

The basic elements of artificial intelligence are decades old. New in the field are, among other things, easily accessible services that utilize generative artificial intelligence and large language models, which "understand" natural language and produce analysis, language, visualizations or

Research began 2023 Research ends 2027

The Academy of Finland’s Research Council for Culture and Society has granted Hanna Virtanen, a chief research scientist at Etla, Academy Research Fellow funding. The four-year project “Education and inclusive growth” begins in September 2023. Academy Research Fellowship funding

Research began 2023 Research ends 2025

The private service sector is a critical driver of the Finnish economy, contributing significantly to economic growth and employment. Currently, the sector is undergoing a substantial transformation due to various factors, including rapid digitalization and other changes in the

Research began 2023 Research ends 2025

Intangibles play a vital role in economic value creation and the overall well-being of societies. Examples of intangibles include brands, data, patents, software, and human and organizational capitals. However, our current understanding of intangibles remains imperfect. This research project

Research began 2023 Research ends 2024

The project examines the environmental products and services offered by Finnish companies. In addition, trade barriers that may have an impact on the market success of Finnish products and solutions are mapped in export countries. The project also assesses

Research began 2022 Research ends 2025

Etla and Labore are evaluating two experiments funded by the The Service Centre for Continuous Learning and Employment (Secle) on promoting continuous learning. The aim of the experiments is to determine how participation in continuous learning could be increased

Research began 2023 Research ends 2024

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 2023 Research ends 2024

In Finland, it is possible for secondary education students to complete both a general education matriculation degree and a vocational degree. They can be completed either consecutively or in parallel as a combined degree. However, the effects of completing

Research began 2023 Research ends 2024

Sustainable development and a carbon-neutral society are built on new products and solutions from the circular economy. In addition, the solutions of circular economy are also expected to create new types of business opportunities for Finnish companies. However, the

Research began 2023 Research ends 2024

This research project studies the effects of business subsidies granted for companies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It compares the goals of these subsidiaries to their performance, and thereby their success. It also studies the effects of the business

Research began 2022 Research ends 2023

The aim of this research project is to analyse the resilience of various companies and industries, i.e., their crisis resistance, the factors influencing it, and the ability to recover from a crisis. In addition, the project will look at

Research began 2022 Research ends 2023

In Europe, the direction of bargaining on the terms of employment has been from centralized systems towards more decentralized negotiation systems, which means that negotiations are moving closer to company-specific bargaining at the company level. However, Finland’s bargaining system