Virus has created different economic system, says Finnish pensions chief
The chief executive officer of the State Pension Fund of Finland (Valtion Eläkerahasto, VER), said the economic conditions brought about by the pandemic will stay with us, and with digitalisation and medicine as the key drivers of this new system, that is where governments need to allocate resources.
Timo Löyttyniemi, CEO of VER, the €22.9bn fund which balances central government’s staff pension spending, said in a blog: “COVID has given birth to a different economic system where only change is constant,” but people got used to everything and human beings were fortunately an adaptable species.
On where governments should allocate their political and financial resources, he said: ”The answer should be clear: digitalisation, medicine and a huge amount of other research to solve social, economic and environmental problems.”
Medical research, efficient healthcare and education would provide the keys to an exit and return to normality, he said.
“Digitalisation helps us to adapt and succeed in the context of the COVID economy. The benefits offered by research funding are highly tangible. If these efforts bear fruit, the future of the COVID economy or an exit from it may prove bright,” Löyttyniemi said in the blog.
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