This research project studies the effects of business subsidies intended to support companies during COVID-19 pandemic. It compares the goals of these subsidiaries to their performance, and thereby their success. It also studies the effects of COVID-19 business support policies on the economy, long-term productivity, markets, and competition.
Of the different business support policies, the project studies the effectiveness of both financial instruments and grants. Regarding the instrument support, the study analyses the effects of loans and guarantees provided by Finnvera and loans provided by Business Finland. Regarding grants, the study focuses on Business Finland’s disruption financing (BF support), the ELY Centres’ COVID-19 disruption subsidies and restaurant subsidies paid by the KEHA Centre, as well as cost subsidies granted by the State Treasury. In addition, the study examines the interaction of instrument- and grant-based support.
The project provides information on the effects of the subsidies related to the COVID-19 pandemic and specifies policy recommendations on how the measures intended to manage the liquidity crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could be developed.
