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I'm not sure why you're getting downvoted. You're not being actively hostile, just voicing conerns. But I feel you're not extending your own question far enoug

I'm not sure why you're getting downvoted. You're not being actively hostile, just voicing conerns. But I feel you're not extending your own question far enough to answer it for yourself. Why do in Finland what is cheaper to do in Cyprus? Why do in Cyprus what is cheaper to do in Laos? Etc, etc. The answer is usually not "The economy is wrong and I am right". Logistics-wise, it is true that we are farther away from places, but it's also true the price of logistics has fallen over the past 100 years by several orders of magnitude -- and that we have a giant sea on our western flank which makes it even cheaper to move huge amounts of freight. I don't think you can look at the sophistication of modern logistical operations and deem that that is going to be the dealkiller for people. Doubly so when you consider the rising tide of self-driving technologies of all kind -- triply so when you consider Finland is one of the few states in Europe still actively investing in nuclear power. A self guided, nuclear powered cargo fleet is the kind of thing I dream about at night. But again - that wouldn't be specific to Finland, that would be a boon to any state with a coastline. So I just don't really see it as all that relevant from a comparative advantage viewpoint. There has to be more to the story than the raw logistics of it, much like there has to be more to the story of Python being more popular than x86 these days even though x86 is closer to the metal.

danjac 3y ago
Was it Kekkonen who said that the Finnish economy is like a chair, and two of the legs are made of wood? The forestry industry is still a big player, especially with the recent disconnection of Russia from the world economy. Biofuels may play a part in that. But not sure it's a big enough differentiator these days. The country is well-educated, however it suffers from the same problem as much of Europe: not enough young people to support a growing retired population. That retired population is also more conservative leaning and doesn't want more immigration, yet Finland needs more skilled immigrants. Again, a common European story of an older voting base who want to live off the fruits of other peoples' labour (whether as recipients of government largesse, or as landlords on their property investments) but do their darnedest to make it harder for that labour to make those fruits.
- distances 3y ago
  Disconnected Russia is also a problem for the Finnish forest industry: the processing capacity greatly exceeds domestic wood supply and was relying on raw material imports from Russia. This now results in reduced industrial output.

danjac 3y ago

Was it Kekkonen who said that the Finnish economy is like a chair, and two of the legs are made of wood? The forestry industry is still a big player, especially with the recent disconnection of Russia from the world economy. Biofuels may play a part in that. But not sure it's a big enough differentiator these days. The country is well-educated, however it suffers from the same problem as much of Europe: not enough young people to support a growing retired population. That retired population is also more conservative leaning and doesn't want more immigration, yet Finland needs more skilled immigrants. Again, a common European story of an older voting base who want to live off the fruits of other peoples' labour (whether as recipients of government largesse, or as landlords on their property investments) but do their darnedest to make it harder for that labour to make those fruits.

distances 3y ago
Disconnected Russia is also a problem for the Finnish forest industry: the processing capacity greatly exceeds domestic wood supply and was relying on raw material imports from Russia. This now results in reduced industrial output.