Arto Kokkinen, Senior Economist at the National Audit Office of Finland, writes in the Chydenius magazine about the importance of human knowledge in companies’ R&D activities.
According to Arto Kokkinen, advanced human capital in R&D activities increases the possibilities to invent new and more productive features to fixed production assets worldwide. In other words, the development of new production technologies is fuelled by human capital and can stimulate economic growth. At the same time, the adoption of new technologies can increase the demand for human capital.
“My analysis of the next generation of economic growth, and the research results supporting the analysis, indicates that Finland should focus on investing in production assets incorporating new technology, as well as on acquiring investments (and new ideas) through international networking. At the same time, Finland should invest in the enhancement of knowledge and skills that can promote the understanding of new technology and innovation among workers,” Kokkinen writes.
Kokkinen’s guest column is based on his study On Finland’s Economic Growth and Convergence with Sweden and the EU15 in the 20th Century.
The guest column in the Chydenius magazine (in Finnish)
Additional information
Arto Kokkinen
Senior Economist, PhD
Monitoring and Oversight