Immigrants, Business Dynamics and Economic Growth
Research group: Growth, international trade and competition Research began: 2017 Research ended: 2019 Sponsored by: TT-säätiö
Immigrants, Business Dynamics and Economic Growth

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 in national productivity, if the conditions of business dynamics are good. Immigrants can play a significant role in that, and therefore it is interesting to study how many and how productive are the businesses set up by the entrepreneurs with immigrant background. Decomposition of firm-level sources of economic growth allow us to calculate what is the contribution of immigrant entrepreneurs’ businesses to the amount of jobs, productivity growth, and thus to the competitiveness of different sectors. It is also possible to investigate what is the contribution of immigrant entrepreneurs’ businesses to the so-called “creative destruction”, i.e., the changes of corporate and workplace structures that reinforce productivity. Furthermore, the method can be used to measure time lags of the effects.

Immigrants, Business Dynamics and Economic Growth research staff:

Research Director, Ph.D. Mika Maliranta, Etla (project leader)

Research Manager in Statistics Finland and Visiting Scholar in ETLA, Satu Nurmi

The Managing Director of Etlatieto Ltd and Research Director of ETLA, Ph.D. Petri Rouvinen