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Finland’s regional GDPs 1880-2010: estimates, sources and interpretations

Enflo, Kerstin LU orcid (2014) In Lund Papers in Economic History. General Issues
Abstract
This paper provides the first consistent long-run estimates of Finnish regional GDPs, from 1880 to 2010. Estimates are provided for 12 historical counties as well as for the 5 current-border NUTS 2-regions. The main results from the analyses of the long-run evolution of regional GDPs are the following. Firstly, it is clear that Finland’s geographical position, in the intersection between Eastern and Western Europe, has led to a history of balancing between the two powers. A long-run economic decline of the historically important regions of the west is documented. Simultaneously access to Russian markets advanced the East, but trade was subject to several large shocks, notably with the Finnish independence of 1917 and the collapse of the... (More)
This paper provides the first consistent long-run estimates of Finnish regional GDPs, from 1880 to 2010. Estimates are provided for 12 historical counties as well as for the 5 current-border NUTS 2-regions. The main results from the analyses of the long-run evolution of regional GDPs are the following. Firstly, it is clear that Finland’s geographical position, in the intersection between Eastern and Western Europe, has led to a history of balancing between the two powers. A long-run economic decline of the historically important regions of the west is documented. Simultaneously access to Russian markets advanced the East, but trade was subject to several large shocks, notably with the Finnish independence of 1917 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Over the long run, the paper finds that the southern part of the country has been the winner in the Finnish regional growth league. Secondly, the paper analyses regional inequality and finds that Finland’s counties and regions were relatively unequal in European comparison during early industrialization. Rapid convergence in GDP per capita only took place after the Second World War, but was interrupted by the 1980s and replaced by a new tendency for divergence. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Working paper/Preprint
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Industrialization, Regional inequality, Regional income, Economic growth
in
Lund Papers in Economic History. General Issues
issue
135
pages
36 pages
publisher
Department of Economic History, Lund University
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2bf53d5b-1c2b-403c-abbf-ec3af08a9e47 (old id 7868890)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 10:11:57
date last changed
2021-10-01 02:19:57
@misc{2bf53d5b-1c2b-403c-abbf-ec3af08a9e47,
  abstract     = {{This paper provides the first consistent long-run estimates of Finnish regional GDPs, from 1880 to 2010. Estimates are provided for 12 historical counties as well as for the 5 current-border NUTS 2-regions. The main results from the analyses of the long-run evolution of regional GDPs are the following. Firstly, it is clear that Finland’s geographical position, in the intersection between Eastern and Western Europe, has led to a history of balancing between the two powers. A long-run economic decline of the historically important regions of the west is documented. Simultaneously access to Russian markets advanced the East, but trade was subject to several large shocks, notably with the Finnish independence of 1917 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Over the long run, the paper finds that the southern part of the country has been the winner in the Finnish regional growth league. Secondly, the paper analyses regional inequality and finds that Finland’s counties and regions were relatively unequal in European comparison during early industrialization. Rapid convergence in GDP per capita only took place after the Second World War, but was interrupted by the 1980s and replaced by a new tendency for divergence.}},
  author       = {{Enflo, Kerstin}},
  keywords     = {{Industrialization; Regional inequality; Regional income; Economic growth}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  number       = {{135}},
  publisher    = {{Department of Economic History, Lund University}},
  series       = {{Lund Papers in Economic History. General Issues}},
  title        = {{Finland’s regional GDPs 1880-2010: estimates, sources and interpretations}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/18258181/2014_135.pdf}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}