In this study a numerical search equilibrium model of labour markets is applied to the Finnish data in order to analyse the factors behind the record high unemployment of the early 90?s. Job creation and job destruction are endogenously determined from the dynamic optimising behaviour of firms...

This study examines the labour market careers of young people who finished their studies or left compulsory schooling in 1988. The main issue of interest is the impact of past unemployment on current unemployment. The results strongly suggest a sizeable scarring effect of the incidence of...

The paper analyses efficiency aspects of a dual income tax system with a higher tax on capital gains than dividends. It argues that apart from the distortions to investments claimed in earlier literature, the system puts even more emphasis in creating incentives for entrepreneurs to participate...

This paper examines the effect on housing construction of taxing undeveloped residential land at a higher rate than developed land. In 2001, Finnish municipalities were allowed to levy an extra property tax on undeveloped land zoned for housing. The aim of the reform was to encourage housing...

This paper reviews the macroeconomic performance of the so called Nordic welfare states, especially in terms of growth and employment. In the post-war years the Nordic economies enjoyed rapid growth and full employment. At the same time, under the rule of Social Democratic governments they also...

The report describes the development of labour taxation in Finland since the launching of the Employment Guidelines (EG) in 1997. The taxes considered include state and municipal taxes on earned income as well as social security payments of employees and employers. We find that the Finnish tax...

Private rental markets in Finland were subject to rent control from 1967 until the beginning of the 1990s when the rent control system was gradually abolished. This study estimates the costs and benefits of rent control to tenants in private rental dwellings in 1990 using the years 1998 and 2001...

This paper investigates fiscal policy sustainability in Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, and Venezuela using competing methodologies. Standard unit roots and cointegration analyses do not endorse the validity of the intertemporal budget constraint. In contrast, to varying degree...

We examine the role of demographics on the housing market in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area (HMA) using the Mankiw and Weil (1989) approach. First, we estimate housing demand for each age group in HMA using cross section data and find that it increases from childhood to the age 70-74 years. This...