Abstract

While state-owned enterprises (SOEs) used to be considered obsolete tools for governmental intervention in the economy, in recent years governmental intervention in the business sector has re-emerged as a topic of debate. However, scholarship on the changes in and the modernisation of the SOE model is limited. In this article, we examine how the Finnish state’s ownership policy adapted to the requirements of economic globalisation between the 1970s and the 2010s. We show that the attitude towards globalisation was pragmatic and aimed at safeguarding the competitiveness of domestic companies. The state-owned company system was gradually adapted to meet new needs, losing most of its original industrial policy significance. SOEs had to be made competitive and profitable, but company-specific targets depended on the ownership criteria associated with the companies. At the same time, the government paid more attention to supporting research and development in the private sector.

摘要

虽然国有企业 (SOE) 过去被认为是政府干预经济的过时工具，但近年来政府对商业部门的干预重新成为争论的话题。然而，关于国有企业模式的变化和现代化的研究是有限的。在本文中，我们考察了 1970 年代至 2010 年代芬兰国家所有制政策如何适应经济全球化的要求。我们表明对全球化的态度是务实的，旨在维护国内公司的竞争力。国有企业制度逐渐适应新的需求，失去了原有的产业政策意义。国有企业必须具有竞争力和盈利能力，但公司特定的目标取决于与公司相关的所有权标准。与此同时，政府更加重视支持私营部门的研发。