Latest articles and blogs
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Corporate profits not indicating changes in firms’ pricing strategies
Companies do not appear to have sought to benefit from high inflation by increasing their prices and boosting profits.
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Ukraine war is weakening the business environment in Finland
Manufacturing industries, in particular, are suffering from supply chain problems and rising costs. The results of a business survey show that the majority of companies believe they can replace the lost volume of exports to Russia with new markets.
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Public finances carried households and businesses through the COVID crisis
The financial position of households and businesses has on average remained good through the crisis, with the exception of the service industries directly impacted by COVID-19. Support measures have weakened the public finances.
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Companies respond to the corona crisis by adjusting labour costs
Most Finnish companies have suffered a drop in turnover as a result of the corona crisis. Service industries are hard pressed. Cost adjustments and funding arrangements have saved jobs.
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Do wages contribute to flexibility and competitiveness in a monetary union?
The method by which agreement is reached on wages in the Member States participating in EMU has a particular significance for employment and growth. Optimal wage formation defines the development of competitiveness.
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Divergence of productivity growth in Finnish companies
The number of low-productivity firms in Finland is large, but average productivity is being raised by a small pack of frontrunners. Even in such frontier firms, productivity growth is mostly torpid.
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Are weakly profitable firms suppressing economic growth?
Unprofitable firms occupy economic resources and slow down productivity growth.
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Profitable firms provide employment and pay higher wages
The few ‘superstars’ of high productivity and profitability stand out in the large mass of firms. A one-size-fits-all economic policy is unsuitable in an environment of considerable heterogeneity in productivity and profitability.
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Job creation in firms – does Finland lack gazelles?
Among the set of new firms there are those known as ’gazelles’, firms that rapidly increase their employment. This small group of high-growth firms generates a disproportionate share of new jobs.
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Shortage of new firms jams labour market recovery
One reason behind the shortage of new jobs is the lack of new firms, which create the largest number of jobs. The frozen labour market will slow restructuring of the economy and weakens the outlook for growth.