5.1 Finland in a changing world economy
5.2 What is the National Economy invested in?
5.3 R&D and internationalization
5.4 ICT Finland
5.5 Nokia - a big company in a small country
5.6 ICT cluster in Finland - A historical perspective
5.7 The World's most competitive nation?

5.2 What is the National Economy invested in?

Investments reached a new level in the late 1950s and '60s. Their relative level remained high until the early 1990s. The nation sought rapid economic growth through increased production capital. Housing investments, for instance, have been unusually high in Finland because of extensive internal migration. Since World War II, housing investments have comprised one-fifth of investments. This is over five per centage points higher than the average industrial country.

The mid-70s energy crisis pushed down the investment rate in all industrial countries, including Finland. However the Finnish investment level remained higher than elsewhere until the early 1990s, at which point it dropped sharply. From the late '70s on, industry's share of the entire national economy's investments declined. Particularly in the late '80s, service-sector investments rose sharply. Its capacity expanded excessively, in relation to the industrial sector competing with foreign production. Since the '90s, investment growth has focused on non-material investments. Instead of buildings, machines and equipment, companies have invested in intangible assets such as knowledge and R&D.