Suchergebnisse

This article discusses how Navigation Acts affected shipping and commodity trade from and to the Northern Baltic during the early nineteenth century. We use Finnish shipping and foreign trade as an example of trade integration at the time. Finland can be used as a 'laboratory case' to study the importance of the Navigation Acts, as the eastern part of the area followed Russian legislation without the Navigation Act to restrict shipping to domestic vessels, while the western part followed Swedish legislation with strict protection through the Swedish version of the Act (Produktplakat). The article argues that the role played by foreign vessels in shipments of Finnish export goods was far more significant during the period than has been noted before. Also, we argue that British shipping was of decisive importance in these trades, especially from the south-eastern parts of Finland, most notably the city of Vyborg. The literature so far has emphasised both endogenous causes (e.g. structural change in the Finnish economy, the role played by Swedish and Russian legislation in Finland) and exogenous causes (e.g. changes in British customs duties and the repeal of the Navigation Acts) for changes in shipping and trade patterns. Until recently, the big picture of this trade has been rather difficult to form due to shortcomings in the sources. This study overcomes these challenges by using both Danish Sound Toll data and local archival sources to trace patterns of trade. ; peerReviewed

Government intervention in the economy is often justified by the need to correct market failures. This study analyzes one case, the investments of Finnish forest industries, in which, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, both policy makers and the trade association representing the sector reasoned that intervention was particularly necessary because otherwise, the only substantial natural resource in the small country would be overexploited. In the long run, however, the growth of forest resources turned out to be higher, and the demand for wood lower, than expected. Furthermore, the most influential industrialists managed to "capture" the regulatory system and make it a component of their network of cartels and other restrictive practices. Regulatory capture is usually seen as a something that should be avoided, but in this case, it helped the Finnish forest industries to transform themselves from a supplier of bulk goods into the world's leading exporter of high-end paper grades. Recent decline in demand has, however, raised doubts about the wisdom of this strategy.

The Nordic Model is the 20th-century Scandinavian recipe for combining stable democracies, individual freedom, economic growth and comprehensive systems for social security. But what happens when Sweden and Finland - two countries topping global indexes for competitiveness, productivity, growth, quality of life, prosperity, and equality - start doubting themselves and their future? Is the Nordic Model at a crossroads?Historically, consensus, continuity, social cohesion, and broad social trust have been hailed as key components for the success and for the self-images of Sweden and Finland. In the contemporary, however, political debates in both countries are increasingly focused on risks, threats, and worry. Social disintegration, political polarization, geopolitical anxieties, and threat of terrorism are often dominant themes. This book focuses on what appears to be a paradox: countries with low income differences, high faith in social institutions, and relatively high cultural homogeneity becoming fixated on the fear of polarization, disintegration, and diminished social trust. Unpacking the presentist discourse of "worry" and a sense of interregnum at the face of geopolitical tensions, digitalization, and globalization, as well as challenges to democracy, the chapters take steps back in time and explore the current conjecture through the eyes of historians and social scientists, addressing key aspects of and challenges to both the contemporary and future Nordic Model. In addition, the functioning and efficacy of the participatory democracy and current protocols of decision-making are debated.This work is essential reading for students and scholars of the welfare state, social reforms, and populism, as well as Nordic and Scandinavian studies.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license