Euro Area member states have agreed to introduce a structural budget balance target to their national legislation (Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance). However, there exists no commonly agreed methodology to calculate this macroeconomic indicator. This report presents the...

In this paper we analyse to what extent the Nordic economies are vulnerable to external shocks. Specifi cally, we assess the conventional wisdom that the Nordic countries are small open economies that are sig nificantly engaged in international trade, specialised in only few specific industries...

This paper provides a characterization of the fiscal policy framework in four established federal countries with heterogeneous intergovernmental relations and demographic characteristics: Canada, Germany, Switzerland and the United States. We consider the implications of fiscal federalism from...

This paper studies real-time measures of the output gap and fiscal policy stance estimates for EU countries. We construct a comprehensive real-time data set on fiscal forecasts and study whether there are systematic differences between the European Commission and IMF estimates of the output gap...

This paper studies the taxation of non-listed companies and their owners in Finland. We first describe the main features of the Finnish tax system regarding the taxation of dividends from non-listed companies. We use firm-level data to illustrate how the tax incentives are reflected in firms’...

This study simulates with two dynamic models the macroeconomic and public finance outcomes of a reduction in the corporate income tax rate in Finland. FOG-model is a dynamic CGE model, which is calibrated to the Finnish economy. NiGEM is a multi-country macroeconometric model. The results show...

We consider a reform that would replace the current Finnish unemployment insurance (UI) scheme with individual unemployment accounts. The reform would provide additional pensions for individuals who end up with a positive account balance at retirement age without restricting unemployment...

We find that one-third of both Finnish and Norwegian employment will be highly susceptible to computerization in the next decade or two. Low-wage and low-skill occupations appear to be more threatened. Service and public sector jobs are relatively more sheltered than those in manufacturing and...

European metals end engineering industry has managed to keep its position in global competition. Germany has become the leading manufacturer of machines and equipment. Metals and engineering products are used in nearly all industries and businesses, and especially due to emerging economy growth...

The industrial internet has been described as a new industrial revolution, a significant re-shaper of markets and a global impetus for growth. Finland is looking for new growth opportunities and competitive edge in the industrial internet. The Prime Minister’s Office has identified it as one...