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The Organisation of Services of General Interest in Finland

Author

Listed:
  • Johan WILLNER

    (Åbo Akademi University, Department of Economics, Turku, Finland)

  • Sonja GRÖNBLOM

Abstract

Like in most other European countries, services of general interest in Finland have in recent years been subject to competition, increased private provision, and in some cases privatisation. This development is motivated by expected cost reductions, by EUregulations, by ideology and fashion, and in some cases also by a desire to generate sales revenues. Empirical evaluations have provided mixed results, but the relatively successful history of Finland’s state enterprises makes it hard to believe that the public sector would be unable to organise SGI-services efficiently. A number of potential market failures suggest that renationalisation should be taken seriously as an alternative to regulation. This would not necessarily be a very radical policy, because public ownership is still fairly prominent among SGIs in Finland

Suggested Citation

  • Johan WILLNER & Sonja GRÖNBLOM, 2015. "The Organisation of Services of General Interest in Finland," CIRIEC Working Papers 1520, CIRIEC - Université de Liège.
    • Handle: RePEc:crc:wpaper:1520
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    File URL: https://www.ciriec.uliege.be/repec/WP15-20.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    public ownership; privatisation; cost efficiency; social objectives;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods
    • H44 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Goods: Mixed Markets
    • L33 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Comparison of Public and Private Enterprise and Nonprofit Institutions; Privatization; Contracting Out
    • L90 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - General

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