The Finnish government yesterday (29 August) announced its budget for 2014. The budget did not contain any surprises as it was heavily based on the agreement made by the six-party coalition in March. Mild austerity measures will continue as planned.
The main focus was on new structural reforms the government had agreed to announce at the same time as next year's budget. These reforms are aimed at reducing the sustainability gap in public finances in the long run.
New reforms include cuts, tweaks and major changes from municipal structures to specific alterations in labour market benefits. The size of the reform package is significant but many details are still vague, implementation is spread between 2014 and 2017.
The new measures should take Finland a long way towards more sustainable public finances. The reforms have the potential to generate positive effects in the medium and long term. Meanwhile, positive cyclical developments in the global economy should help exports and bring GDP to a positive trend in the latter part of 2013.
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