Book Description

In the past, vigorous reforms promoting competition and liberalising the economy have helped Finland to stimulate strong growth and an above average performance among OECD countries. The rise of a world class ICT sector is a defining characteristic of todays economy, but so is a large public sector and a continuing high level of state ownership. This report suggests that more impetus needs to be given to the reform process across the Finnish society. A stronger, strategic and centrally-driven regulatory governance policy will help to unlock further positive changes. The success of the ICT sector needs to be mirrored by a stronger performance of other parts of the economy. The efficiency of public services, which are mainly delivered at the local level, requires attention. Clear policies are needed to determine the scope of state ownership and the governance of state-owned entities. These will help to delineate the respective roles of the state and the private sector. Some service and other sectors would benefit from more competition. And regulatory reform of the labour market is an increasingly pressing need. Finland is one of many OECD countries to request a broad review by the OECD of its regulatory practices and reforms. This review presents an overall picture, set within a macro-economic context, of regulatory achievements and challenges including regulatory quality, competition policy, and market openness. It also assesses progress in the commercialisation of government services. The background material used to prepare this report is available at: www.oecd.org/regreform/backgroundreports In the same series: Regulatory Reform in Canada Regulatory Reform in the Czech Republic Regulatory Reform in Denmark Regulatory Reform in Greece Regulatory Reform in Hungary Regulatory Reform in Ireland Regulatory Reform in Italy Regulatory Reform in Japan Regulatory Reform in Korea Regulatory Reform in Mexico Regulatory Reform in Norway Regulatory Reform in the Netherlands Regulatory Reform in Poland Regulatory Reform in Spain Regulatory Reform in Turkey Regulatory Reform in the United Kingdom Regulatory Reform in the United States For a comparative analysis of regulatory policy performance in OECD countries, see Regulatory Policies in OECD Countries: From Interventionism to Regulatory Governance, published in 2002, and Integrating Market Openness into the Regulatory Process: Emerging Patterns in OECD Countries, available at www.oecd.org/regreform. The analytical basis of the OECD Regulatory Review programme was laid in the OECD Report on Regulatory Reform: Synthesis, and the supporting two-volume OECD Report on Regulatory Reform: Sectoral and Thematic Studies, published in 1997.