Research focus
PTT’s general economics research focuses on question relating to regional economic development and regional policy, the problems of co-operative and small and medium size enterprises and selected public sector themes.
In the field of regional development, we have examined regional competitiveness, regional differences in housing markets, the effects of various regional development projects and, recently, long term population development and its effect on regional welfare services. On-going projects include migration and forecasting the development of regional housing markets.
Research projects on co-operative enterprises and entrepreneurship include an investigation of the growth of SMEs and determinants of entrepreneurship.
Projects on the public sector have included a study of the effect of real-estate assessment in different parts of Finland, and non-profit organisations and co-operatives as producers of welfare services.
In the agricultural and food sectors, we project agricultural production and prices in the main areas of production as well as some central issues in food markets.
The main focus of agricultural research is structural and regional policy. We have examined agricultural production, the number of farms, investment and generation transfers in Finland and the effects of various regional development projects. Topics currently under study include the effect of agricultural support in the EU and factors affecting the price formation of arable land.
Projects in the field of food production include the impacts of EU enlargement and international trade on the Finnish food industry and the impact of export subsidy elimination on the dairy sector. One project is examining the status and influence of developing countries in the WTO agricultural negotiations. We have also analysed different pricing systems and their impacts on the supply chain in the food sector, in addition to agribusiness and food industry networks and E-business.
In forestry economics, research focuses on the functioning of roundwood markets and the behaviour of private forest owners, and selected aspects of the national and international forestry industry.
In the field of forestry economics we have analysed roundwood market competition and integration in Finland and have examined the supply of and markets for wood energy in Finland and the EU. The EU and its new candidate member countries have also been studied on a general level. An ongoing project is assessing the prospects of roundwood markets in the Baltic Sea and their effects on Finland.
Concerning wood industry markets, we have a project that examines the competence and image of wood on German building material markets and prospective markets for engineering wood products in Germany and the UK.
