Jenni Jaakkola elected Secretary General of the Finnish Economic Policy Council
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The Ministry of Finance has appointed Jenni Jaakkola, D.Sc. (Econ.), as Secretary General of the Finnish Economic Policy Council for the period of 1 September 2024 – 31 December 2025. During Jaakkola’s term, the Council’s role and division of labour with other actors will be examined further.
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Based on VATT’s proposal, the Ministry of Finance has appointed Jenni Jaakkola, D.Sc. (Econ.), as Secretary General of the Finnish Economic Policy Council from 1 September 2024. Jaakkola will hold the post until the end of 2025.
Jaakkola will assume her post from her current one at the Ministry of Finance’s Department for Local Government and Regional Administration, where she has worked in different positions, most recently as a ministerial adviser, since 2018. Her previous employers include the National Audit Office of Finland (NAOF) and Turku School of Economics. Jaakkola attained her Doctor of Science (Economics and Business Administration) degree from Turku School of Economics in 2015. Her thesis focused on decision-making in representative democracies.
“I’m excited for this next chapter in my career. This type of fixed-term post will be a great opportunity for me to make use of what I know in a new environment. The perspective of the Finnish Economic Policy Council is slightly different from that of my previous employers, which is a good opportunity for broadening my horizons,” says Jaakkola.
Jaakkola will be on leave from the Ministry of Finance for the duration of her term. During her appointment, the Finnish Economic Policy Council's role and its division of labour with other actors will be examined further. Jaakkola’s appointment was made after the previous permanent Secretary General, Anni Huhtala, announced her resignation in August.
The Council’s role under review
The Finnish Parliament has expressed its interest in reviewing what kind of economic policy assessments should be carried out in Finland in the future. As a consequence of this, the Government has been asked to examine the partly overlapping tasks of the Finnish Economic Policy Council, which operates in connection with VATT, and the fiscal policy monitoring conducted by the NAOF (for more information, see the related parliamentary communication, which is available in Finnish).
The mission of the Finnish Economic Policy Council, established in 2014, is to bring an independent, research-oriented perspective to economic policy debate. The Council’s most important publication is its annual report, where a group of highly respected professors assesses the current Government’s economic policy. The Council includes members from both Finland and other Nordic countries – currently from Finland and Norway. The Council is chaired by Niku Määttänen, Professor of Macroeconomics at the University of Helsinki.
The annual report is significant
Jenni Jaakkola believes that the Finnish Economic Policy Council’s annual report serves an important role in the discussions on Finland’s economic policy. She also promises that the next annual report will be published on schedule in early 2025.
“The annual report broadly assesses the objectives and means of the Government’s economic policy. However, it’s not yet certain which themes the next report will focus on,” Jaakkola explains.
Funding for Finnish wellbeing services counties, a topic that Jaakkola has become familiar with in recent years at the Ministry of Finance, is one possibility. At the Ministry, Jaakkola’s duties included tasks related to the funding model of the wellbeing services counties, such as the functionality and development of the model, legislative work, and, in particular, the assessment of its economic impacts.
“The funding for the wellbeing services counties represents a significant part of the State’s budget. The activities of the wellbeing services counties and the organisation of their services must be secured while simultaneously controlling the increase in their costs. This is a key issue for Finland’s public finances as a whole,” says Jaakkola.
Jaakkola is familiar with the assessment of economic policy
Jenni Jaakkola is also familiar with the fiscal policy monitoring carried out by the NAOF, her previous employer. At the NAOF, her role as an economist included conducting assessments of public finances and economic policy.
According to Jaakkola, the NAOF’s fiscal policy reporting contains both similarities and differences when compared to the reports published by the Finnish Economic Policy Council.
“The extensive reports of the Finnish Economic Policy Council have also traditionally taken employment and educational policies into account. The NAOF’s reports, on the other hand, typically focus on assessing fiscal policies and their compliance with regulations stemming from the EU's Stability and Growth Pact.”
Jenni Jaakkola is not yet able to comment on whether the report requested by the Finnish Parliament will lead to changes in the assessment of Finland’s economic policy.
In addition to the Secretary General, the staff roster of the Finnish Economic Policy Council, which operates in the same premises as VATT, includes one researcher. VATT’s office is located on the Economicum Campus in central Helsinki.
“No matter what happens, there will always be a need for extensive assessments of economic policy, especially by a body of independent economists,” Jaakkola concludes.
Further information:
Jenni Jaakkola, Secretary General, Finnish Economic Policy Council (starting from 1 September 2024), contact information (Ministry of Finance), tel. +358 29 553 0570, email: [email protected]
Niku Määttänen, Chair, Finnish Economic Policy Council and Professor of Macroeconomics, University of Helsinki, tel. +358 29 412 8721, email [email protected]
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