Recent research indicates that lowering public transport fares in the Helsinki metropolitan area reduced car use and CO2 emissions. However, the measure was expensive in terms of cost per tonne of CO2 reduced compared to other climate actions.
.png/9f2f069b-5095-8210-5bf0-85d94e9407b5?version=1.0&t=1740484704386&width=306)
There is recent empirical evidence on the impact of cuts to unemployment insurance. "Both shorter entitlement periods and lower daily benefits shorten periods of unemployment and accelerate re-employment. The impact of less generous earnings-related benefits on the quality of future jobs is likely to be relatively small," writes Tomi Kyyrä, a research professor at VATT.
Teemu Lyytikäinen, a long-time chief researcher and research leader at the VATT Institute for Economic Research, has been appointed research professor. VATT’s management decided on the change of position in December 2024.
According to a recent background report by the Economic Policy Council, wages in the Helsinki travel-to-work area are significantly higher than in other parts of Finland. Work experience gained in Helsinki also leads to faster wage growth compared to other regions. The report attributes this to the higher productivity enabled by the larger city size, which enables higher wages.
The Government has appointed Tuulia Hakola-Uusitalo, Doctor of Social Sciences, as Director General of the VATT Institute for Economic Research (VATT) for the five-year term 2025–2029.
Only a small fraction of retail trade companies opted to pay newly hired workers under the age of 25 subminimum wages, after policy change. This finding suggests that prevailing wage norms significantly influence firms’ wage setting.
New information has been discovered about the long-term development in intelligence, or the Flynn effect. Changes in health and nutrition alone do not explain the changes in intelligence; they are also explained by changes in skills valued in the labour market at any given time, posits the doctoral dissertation of Miika Päällysaho, Senior Researcher at VATT.
Tuulia Hakola-Uusitalo, acting Director General and Research Director of VATT, has been appointed to the Swedish Fiscal Policy Council from 5 September 2024 to 30 June 2027.
.jpg/9e4a8342-8986-154b-19af-55fe79fd406d?version=1.0&t=1726139671476&width=200)
Finland is determined to invest in RDI – research, development and innovation – even in difficult economic times. What would be the most effective way to spend the growing RDI investments? This question will be answered by a number of economists from Finland and abroad at VATT Day on Thursday 19 September 2024.
