[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/ecpoli/v14y1999i29p400-436..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The economic crisis of the 1990s in Finland

Author

Listed:
  • Seppo Honkapohja
  • Erkki Koskela
Abstract
Summary Finland's depression A tale of bad luck and bad policiesIn the 1990s, Finland underwent a deep depression as its GDP dropped about 14% and unemployment rose from 3 to almost 20%. This is a story of bad luck and bad policies. Bad luck took the form of external shocks: the collapse of trade with the former Soviet Union in 1991, but also sharp cycles in the OECD area. However, bad luck is far from being the whole story. In the absence of bad policies, Finland would have experienced a recession, not a depression. Bad policies included a poorly designed financial regulation and mistaken reactions to the onset of the crisis. Of particular interest is the role of financial factors in triggering the crisis and aggravating the effects of bad policies. Not only were consumption and investment spending hurt by the credit crunch, but there is evidence that the private sector’s indebtedness has increased structural unemployment, which explains why the recovery is proceeding with few job creations. A number of general lessons emerge. They concern the deregulation of financial markets, the policy reaction to massive capital inflows and the role of employment policies.— Seppo Honkapohja and Erkki Koskela

Suggested Citation

  • Seppo Honkapohja & Erkki Koskela, 1999. "The economic crisis of the 1990s in Finland," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 14(29), pages 400-436.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ecpoli:v:14:y:1999:i:29:p:400-436.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/1468-0327.00054
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Agell, J. & Berg, L. & Edin, P.A., 1995. "Tax Reform, Consumption and Asset Structure," Papers 16, Uppsala - Working Paper Series.
    2. Philippe Bacchetta & Eric van Wincoop, 2000. "Capital Flows to Emerging Markets: Liberalization, Overshooting, and Volatility," NBER Chapters, in: Capital Flows and the Emerging Economies: Theory, Evidence, and Controversies, pages 61-98, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Bernanke, Ben & Gertler, Mark & Gilchrist, Simon, 1996. "The Financial Accelerator and the Flight to Quality," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(1), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Layard, Richard & Nickell, Stephen & Jackman, Richard, 2005. "Unemployment: Macroeconomic Performance and the Labour Market," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199279173.
    5. Mr. Burkhard Drees & Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, 1995. "The Nordic Banking Crises: Pitfalls in Financial Liberalization?," IMF Working Papers 1995/061, International Monetary Fund.
    6. Alberto Alesina & Roberto Perotti, 1995. "Fiscal Expansions and Fiscal Adjustments in OECD Countries," NBER Working Papers 5214, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. R. Glenn Hubbard, 1995. "Is there a \\"credit channel\\" for monetary policy?," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue May, pages 63-77.
    8. Stephen D. Oliner & Glenn D. Rudebusch, 1996. "Is there a broad credit channel for monetary policy?," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, pages 3-13.
    9. Francesco Giavazzi & Marco Pagano, 1995. "Non-Keynesian Effects of Fiscal Policy Changes: International Evidence and the Swedish Experience," NBER Working Papers 5332, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Bernanke, Ben S. & Gertler, Mark & Gilchrist, Simon, 1999. "The financial accelerator in a quantitative business cycle framework," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 21, pages 1341-1393, Elsevier.
    11. Velasco, A. & Chang, R., 1998. "The Asian Liquidity Crisis," Working Papers 98-27, C.V. Starr Center for Applied Economics, New York University.
    12. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1999. "More instruments and broader goals: moving toward the Post-Washington Consensus," Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Center of Political Economy, vol. 19(1), pages 101-128.
    13. R. Glenn Hubbard, 1994. "Is There a `Credit Channel' for Monetary Policy?," NBER Working Papers 4977, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Stephen G. Cecchetti, 1995. "Distinguishing theories of the monetary transmission mechanism," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue May, pages 83-97.
    15. Ellingsen, Tore & Holden, Steinar, 1997. "Indebtedness and Unemployment: A Durable Relationship," SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 186, Stockholm School of Economics.
    16. R. Glenn Hubbard, 1998. "Capital-Market Imperfections and Investment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(1), pages 193-225, March.
    17. Douglas Staiger & James H. Stock, 1997. "Instrumental Variables Regression with Weak Instruments," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(3), pages 557-586, May.
    18. Chevalier, Judith A & Scharfstein, David S, 1996. "Capital-Market Imperfections and Countercyclical Markups: Theory and Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(4), pages 703-725, September.
    19. Corsetti, Giancarlo & Pesenti, Paolo & Roubini, Nouriel, 1999. "What caused the Asian currency and financial crisis?," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 305-373, October.
    20. Ceyla PazarbaÅŸioÄŸlu, 1997. "A Credit Crunch? Finland in the Aftermath of the Banking Crisis," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 44(3), pages 315-327, September.
    21. Hali J. Edison & Pongsak Luangaram & Marcus Miller, 1998. "Asset bubbles, domino effects and 'lifeboats': elements of the East Asian crisis," International Finance Discussion Papers 606, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    22. Koskela, Erkki & Vilmunen, Jouko, 1996. "Tax progression is good for employment in popular models of trade union behaviour," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(1), pages 65-80, August.
    23. Assar Lindbeck, 1997. "The Swedish Experiment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(3), pages 1273-1319, September.
    24. Ben Lockwood & Alan Manning, 1993. "Wage Setting and the Tax System: theory and Evidence for the UK," CEP Discussion Papers dp0115, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    25. Mr. Tarhan Feyzioglu, 1997. "Estimating the Equilibrium Real Exchange Rate: An Application to Finland," IMF Working Papers 1997/109, International Monetary Fund.
    26. Seppo Honkapohja & Erkki Koskela & Jouko Paunio, 1996. "The depression of the 1990s in Finland : an analytic view," Finnish Economic Papers, Finnish Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 37-54, Spring.
    27. Lockwood, Ben & Manning, Alan, 1993. "Wage setting and the tax system theory and evidence for the United Kingdom," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 1-29, August.
    28. R. Glenn Hubbard, 1995. "Is there a \"credit channel\" for monetary policy?," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue May, pages 63-77.
    29. Sebastian Edwards, 1998. "Capital Inflows into Latin America: A Stop-Go Story?," NBER Working Papers 6441, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    30. repec:bla:scandj:v:98:y:1996:i:4:p:579-601 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Bacchetta, Philippe & Gerlach, Stefan, 1997. "Consumption and credit constraints: International evidence," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 207-238, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stein, Jeremy C., 2003. "Agency, information and corporate investment," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 2, pages 111-165, Elsevier.
    2. Frederic S. Mishkin, 2001. "The Transmission Mechanism and the Role of Asset Prices in Monetary Policy," NBER Working Papers 8617, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Repullo, Rafael & Suarez, Javier, 2000. "Entrepreneurial moral hazard and bank monitoring: A model of the credit channel," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(10), pages 1931-1950, December.
    4. Dosi, Giovanni & Fagiolo, Giorgio & Napoletano, Mauro & Roventini, Andrea, 2013. "Income distribution, credit and fiscal policies in an agent-based Keynesian model," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1598-1625.
    5. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/eu4vqp9ompqllr09j0h130d0n is not listed on IDEAS
    6. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/eu4vqp9ompqllr09j0h130d0n is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Smant, David / D.J.C., 2002. "Bank credit in the transmission of monetary policy: A critical review of the issues and evidence," MPRA Paper 19816, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/eu4vqp9ompqllr09j0h130d0n is not listed on IDEAS
    9. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/eu4vqp9ompqllr09j0h130d0n is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Bojan Markovic, 2006. "Bank capital channels in the monetary transmission mechanism," Bank of England working papers 313, Bank of England.
    11. Christian Melzer & Thorsten Neumann, 2005. "Changing Effects of Monetary Policy in the U.S. –Evidence from a Time-Varying Coefficient VAR," Computing in Economics and Finance 2005 144, Society for Computational Economics.
    12. Bertil Holmlund, 2002. "Labor Taxation in Search Equilibrium with Home Production," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 3(4), pages 415-430, November.
    13. Žukauskas, Vytautas & Hülsmann, Jörg Guido, 2019. "Financial asset valuations: The total demand approach," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 123-131.
    14. Cândida Ferreira, 2009. "European Integration and the Credit Channel Transmission of Monetary Policy," Working Papers Department of Economics 2009/07, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Department of Economics, Universidade de Lisboa.
    15. Anil K. Kashyap & Jeremy C. Stein, 1997. "The role of banks in monetary policy: a survey with implications for the European Monetary Union," Economic Perspectives, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, vol. 22(Sep), pages 2-18.
    16. Hummel, Albert Jan & Jacobs, Bas, 2023. "Optimal income taxation in unionized labor markets," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    17. Forslund, Anders & Gottfries, Nils & Westermark, Andreas, 2005. "Real and nominal wage adjustment in open economies," Working Paper Series 2005:23, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    18. Hulsewig, Oliver & Mayer, Eric & Wollmershauser, Timo, 2006. "Bank loan supply and monetary policy transmission in Germany: An assessment based on matching impulse responses," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(10), pages 2893-2910, October.
    19. Stephen G. Cecchetti, 2001. "Legal Structure, Financial Structure and the Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanism," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Deutsche Bundesbank (ed.), The Monetary Transmission Process, chapter 5, pages 170-207, Palgrave Macmillan.
    20. Größl Ingrid & Stahlecker Peter, 2000. "Finanzierungsbedingungen und Güterangebot: Ein Überblick über finanzökonomische Ansätze und deren geldpolitische Konsequenzen," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 220(2), pages 223-250, April.
    21. Frederic S. Mishkin, 1996. "The Channels of Monetary Transmission: Lessons for Monetary Policy," NBER Working Papers 5464, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Fountas, Stilianos & Papagapitos, Agapitos, 2001. "The monetary transmission mechanism: evidence and implications for European Monetary Union," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 397-404, March.
    23. Arturo Galindo & Fabio Schiantarelli, 2002. "Credit Constraints in Latin America: An Overview of the Micro Evidence," Research Department Publications 4305, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    24. Radim Boháček & Hugo Rodríguez Mendizábal, 2007. "Credit Markets and the Propagation of Monetary Policy Shocks," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 39(6), pages 1429-1455, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:ecpoli:v:14:y:1999:i:29:p:400-436.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cebruuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.