What Would a Four-day Work Week Cost Finnish Exports? Factor Prices and Export Price Competitiveness

Jaakko Markkanen, Markku Siikanen and Nelli Valmari

No 184, ETLA Brief from The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy

Abstract: Abstract We assess what a four-day, 32-hour work week would cost Finland’s goods exports across nine large commodity markets. Absent a productivity gain that offsets the lost hours, it would cut export revenue substantially, by about €2.4 billion (-6.4%) over the sample period. In capital-intensive industries the cost increase could, at worst, push the least profitable producers out of the market. As a benchmark, we also assess the effects of Finland’s 2017–2019 Competitiveness Pact (kiky), which raised export revenue in these markets by about €239 million (+0.6%). The Sipilä government’s original, more ambitious package would have raised it even further, by roughly €442 million (+1.2%).

Keywords: Four-day work week; Working time; Exports; Price competitiveness; Cost policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F12 F14 J22 L11 L52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 8 pages
Date: 2026-06-15
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