Opening speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at the XIV International Economic History Congress on 21 August 2006

(check against the delivery)

The world economy is undergoing a dramatic transformation. The economy is growing, but its advantages and disadvantages are distributed unevenly. The gap between rich and poor countries is wide and becoming wider. The uneven and unfair distribution of the benefits and disadvantages of globalization between regions and between individuals is by no means a new phenomenon applying only to today.

Quite the contrary. Economic historians talk of the first and second phases of globalization. The first lasted from the second half of the nineteenth century until the First World War, and we are at present living through the second phase. Globalization is a dynamic phenomenon, which has generated economic growth and welfare, but is has not eliminated social inequality which is for many of us ethically wrong; moreover, it creates social instability.

Efforts have been made in order to make globalization fairer. In 2002 the International Labour Organization (ILO) set up a World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization to gain an insight into the social dimension of the present phase of globalization. The Commission, which I had the honour of co-chairing with Benjamin Mkapa, the then President of Tanzania, came out with a unanimous report in 2004. Since then the United Nations and many other international players have seen the many faces of globalization better and better. Changes that had their origins in economic policy now extend their influence much more widely to people’s lives and the environment.

We have already learnt that information available is not always put to adequate use. There are an astonishing number of things of which we have no knowledge or it is very contradictory. I believe that economic history research has its own important role to play in adding to the scientific knowledge.

The host country of your meeting, Finland, provides an interesting example of a country that has succeeded in rising from a relatively poor country to become one of the wealthiest nations of the world. Finland has benefited from globalization, although we have not entirely escaped its disadvantages. I have often had to give an answer to international guests asking why we have been successful. Our own citizens, of course, are more interested in why we have not yet rid ourselves of the problems that persist.

Without trying to trespass in your field of work, I would claim that expertise and skills hold an important position. For decades, we have been investing in people: both in basic education and in science and research. Today our research and development expenditure of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is among the highest in the world.

An important basis for our educational system is equal and free basic education for all. We have also developed vocational and university education on a wide scale. At universities, the majority of students complete a Master’s degree, whereas in many European countries and the United States students mostly only complete a Bachelor’s degree.

Investment in education has brought results that have gained international recognition. For example, in the international PISA survey we have consistently been ranked first. And research in your field, economic and social history, has also shown the considerable significance of educational investment for the Finnish economy and society.

Our educational system has achieved its present level only in the few past decades. Because of this, there are still hundreds of thousands of people in working life whose educational attainment is relatively modest. Rapid changes in society will increase the need for even young people to keep up their knowledge and skills. It thus seems that the society of the future will, to a very great extent, be an education society in which people will have to prepare themselves for lifelong learning.

This year, we are celebrating in Finland the centenary of the unicameral parliament and universal suffrage. In 1906, Finnish women were among the first, if not the first, to obtain full political rights in national elections. Indeed, Finnish women have been active in creating this Nordic welfare society, which enables men and women to take part in all areas of society’s life.

Equal opportunities in education both for women and men are of prime importance for the exercising of these rights and for the welfare of society.

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Economic history is very important. It enables us to understand the present world better. Research is interaction. For this reason, international contacts and meetings between researchers and scientific communities are extremely important.

I believe that the Finnish organizers are very happy to have been given the honour of arranging the fourteenth International Economic History Congress in Finland.

I would like to wish you a rewarding Congress with interesting discussions and exchanges of views. I also hope that you will be able to enjoy the late summer days in Helsinki and explore Finnish society outside the seminar rooms.