Change in the economic structure – a perspective on the upheaval of the 1990s

Introduction

Structural change has undoubtedly been a key characteristic of Finnish society. The transformation of the economic structure has been marked by the fact that industrialization in Finland started later than in other European countries, but the upheaval of the economic structure has been even faster, especially in the post-World War II period.

The article examines the change in the economic structure in Finland. It is divided into four main sections. The first section clarifies the key concepts that describe the economic structure and structural change. It also presents the ideas of the classics of economics regarding the economic structure. The second section outlines the long-term perspective of structural change in Finland using the coarse framework of the so-called three sectors and analyzes the fundamental economic factors affecting the transformation of the economic structure. The third section presents the manifestation and effects of structural change during the deep recession of the 1990s from the perspective of studies based on establishment-level data. According to the established view in economics, structural change is most intense at the establishment level precisely during deep recessions. The article concludes with a summary.

• ISSN: 1457-2923
• ISBN: 952-5071-52-9
• Publication in PDF-format