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The Programme will raise the employment rate and skill levels, enabling sustainable growth to gather pace. Funding will be directed at e.g. employment services, study opportunities, research, development and innovation activities, and sectors particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

1.9.2026 | On 1 September 2026, the Government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo reached a decision on its budget proposal for 2027 and is steadily implementing the agenda it agreed at the spending limits session. The agenda includes EUR 100 million of investment in construction and numerous transport infrastructure projects. The Government’s targeted measures will support economic growth.

10.12.2025 | The wellbeing services county reform is progressing towards the set objectives throughout Finland, but there are still many issues left to address. This is according to a broad-based interim evaluation of the wellbeing services county reform made by an independent expert group.

10.12.2025 | An independent group of experts has conducted a broad-based interim evaluation of the wellbeing services county reform, which was published on 10 December. Minister of Social Affairs and Health Kaisa Juuso, Minister of Local and Regional Government Anna-Kaisa Ikonen and Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen consider the findings valuable.

22.10.2025 | The gender pay gap has narrowed slowly in Finland. A new research project will produce, for the first time, an extensive long-term economic analysis of the factors that have contributed to the changes in the pay gap. 

6.10.2023 | Finland and the other Nordic countries risk becoming underrepresented among the official staff in EU institutions. Concerns were raised about the issue in a report published on 6 October comparing the measures taken by certain Member States to promote their citizens’ careers in the EU. According to the report, national efforts alone will not be enough to rectify the situation over the short or medium term.

5.4.2023 | The regulatory framework of Finland's fiscal policy has faced several crises that have revealed its ineffectiveness in dealing with unexpected situations. The system should be reformed and its operating model clarified, finds a recent study conducted by the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA) for the Government. According to the researchers, the budgetary framework should distinguish between the operating procedures for normal economic cycles and exceptional crises.

28.5.2021 | According to a study, levying taxes on profit from mining operations would be the most effective way to implement a separate mine tax. The goal of the research project between the VATT Institute for Economic Research, the Finnish Environment Institute and KPMG was to identify a tax instrument that would guarantee reasonable income for society from the extraction of non-renewable natural resourc...

5.3.2025 | On 5 March 2025, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Finance organised a roundtable discussion hosted by four ministers on the topic of how to promote research in the field of healthcare and social welfare.

13.1.2022 | A new study published on 13 January shows that the most effective support policy for research and development is to allocate subsidies to businesses with high R&D productivity or innovation capacity. Uniformly targeted subsidies – which in practical innovation policy are similar to R&D tax incentives – also bring about substantial growth, albeit to a lesser extent than selectively targeted innovation subsidies.

8.12.2021 | Labour productivity in Finland’s national economy has been stagnating at the 2007 level for more than a decade. How is the development of labour productivity affected by resource allocation and structural changes in different sectors? According to a study published on 8 December, there is room for improvement when it comes to resource allocation, but the strongest factor behind productivity growth is the favourable development of individual businesses.

30.5.2022 | The misallocation of labour and capital in the Finnish business sector has increased in the 2000s, which has significantly retarded productivity growth. The concentration of labour to companies with lower productivity is a key factor in retarding growth. A more efficient allocation of labour could be influenced, for example, by dismantling incentive traps and increasing labour mobility and wage competition, states a recent study by Aalto University and ETLA Economic Research.

25.1.2021 | In its spring 2021 budget session, the Government will discuss possible plans to expand the tax credit for household expenses. However, a new study shows that the tax credit is not an effective means to increase employment or prevent tax evasion.

8.7.2020 | Examining the historical development of steering reveals that traditional forms of decision making and traditional steering instruments do not suffice in the modern world. Traditional steering is still useful in maintaining operative functions, but it alone does not strengthen cooperation and promote partnership on multiple levels.

20.11.2020 | The economic costs of climate policy measures such as emission tax and their effects on income distribution can be regulated by redistributing emission tax revenue back to households. This is the outcome of a study conducted by the Pellervo Economic Research Institute PTT, Merit Economics, and Statistics and Research Åland ÅSUB. The means to do this include earned income tax and/or corporation tax concessions and direct support to households.

23.4.2025 | Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government has agreed on the General Government Fiscal Plan for 2026–2029. The decisions focus on reinforcing the conditions for economic growth and enhancing the security of Finland and the Finnish people. At the same time, the Government will ensure that public finances are sustainable. The growth package will be financed responsibly through measures to increase general government revenue and reduce expenditure.

14.3.2023 | The Ministry of Finance has launched an extensive research project to study the relationship between and the management and central government guidance of wellbeing services counties and local government.

14.2.2020 | An international panel has carried out an evaluation of the activities of the VATT Institute for Economic Research. The panel submitted its report to the Ministry of Finance on Friday 14 February.

21.10.2020 | On Wednesday 21 October, the Government invited business and industry leaders to discuss Finland’s sustainable growth programme. More than one hundred representatives from business and industry participated remotely in the Growth Forum, where the discussion focused on research, development and innovation, green transition and digitalisation. Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Minister of Economic Affa...

15.12.2022 | In its latest Economic Survey of Finland, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) assesses the Finnish economy. The OECD also presents recommendations for Finland’s economic and structural policy.