Tuulia Hakola-Uusitalo works as a research director at VATT. Research director is the head of the day-to-day management and the development of the research unit.
Before she was appointed as a research director at VATT, she held the same post at the Competition and Consumer Authority (2019-2023), head of the structural policy unit at the ministry of finance (2007-2019) and chief economist at the Finnish Centre for Pensions (2003-2007).
She received her Phd (Econ) from the University of Helsinki in 2002 and her dissertation was on the effects of the retirement incentives.
As the majority of her working career Tuulia has developed impact assessments within the government. She has, among other things, founded two impact units that use research evidence for impact assessment – one at the Ministry of Finance and another at the Competition and Consumer Authority.