Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1940, Page 94

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LE NORD
soon succeeded by a war which brought still more currency in-
flation and involved heavy sacrifices in capital and man-power.
The loss of the Russian market was also bound to cause diffi-
culties to a number of Finnish industries, which had gradually
been able to develop a considerable export trade with Russia.
Nevertheless the economic reorganization needed was effected
with astonishing rapidity. Monetary stability was reestablished
by means of a successful devaluation, new export markets were
gained and there ensued an industrial expansion of exceptional
intensity.
The forced dissolution of the Scandinavian connection in
1809 had caused considerable difficulties to Finnish economic
life, but it had not been able to obliterate the essentially Scandi-
navian character of the country. The economic organization of
Finland is, indeed, closely related to that of the other Northern
countries and more particularly to that of Sweden. The natural
resources of Finland are in many respects similar to those of Swe-
den. In both countries manufacturing industry is balanced by a
well developed agriculture, both countries and Sweden in partí-
cular having attained a high degree of self-sufficiency as regards
the provision with agricultural products.
Like Sweden Finland gets a large income from her forest
wealth, and the wood-working industries are relatively still more
important to the national economy of Finland than to that of
Sweden. There has been much co-operation between Sweden,
Finland and Norway, especially as regards the pulp and papsr
industries.
There is also a strong affinity between the banking systems
of Finland and Sweden. It is a common feature that time deposits
are of great importance and that the banks have maintained in-
timate connections with industrial enterprise. The banking busi-
ness has also been centralized to a very great extent, and the num-
ber of banking institutes is accordingly rather small.
It would be easy to multiply instances of striking similarities
between Finland and Sweden. There are also many analogies in
the field of social policy. The system of poor relief, the founda-
tions of which were laid during the political union between Swe-
den and Finland, the organization of Old Age Pensions and un-
employment relief — to pick out only a few instances — testify
strongly to a vigorous interaction between the countries and to a