My Academic Journey

I want sincerely thank The OP Group Research Foundation for supporting my desired research topic! The grant distribution occasion was full of warmth. OP is proud of having given a grant to the only Finnish Nobelist in economics and encouraged us to aim high. I am also very thankful to know that the research plan has been read by two to three other specialists than my supervisor and that they found it promising. In the uncertain world of PhD fellow, that means a lot.  Another big joy is the joy for all of our full-time econ PhD students . Saara Vaahtoniemi and Jari-Mikko Meriläinen who each got a grant for one year of research.  Team Econ Vaasa: Meriläinen, Vaahtoniemi & Eklund Worth mentioning is a person who has inspired many (and 100% of Team Econ Vaasa) to study economics, Matti Pohjola, who held a speak at the event thanking OP for being very responsible in financing research when the government is doing the opposite. Indeed, the concept of OP group research...

Today we had the honor of having Erkki Liikanen , the governor of Bank of Finland, at the University of Vaasa. He held an open lecture about the financial markets. The graph shows the steady state economic growth rates with dots and the actual growth with the red line. Between them we can see a blue area - the lost opportunities.  Macroprudential policy and financial union in context.  The financial crises widened our understanding of banks' excessive short-term funding and underestimation of the risks - especially systematic risks. Further, Liikanen noted that the banks haven't yet returned to the same profitability that they had before the financial crises. At the same time banks meet new competition .