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THE FINNISH ECONOMY THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT After the Second World War Finland experienced 50 years of growth. War reparations to the Soviet Union forced Finland to build up their industry infrastructure to be able to repay their debt. A strong metal and engineering industry rose alongside the traditionally powerful forest industry. After the debt was paid Finland established a good trade relation to the Soviet Union. In the 1980s the declining oil prices showed fractures in this symbiosis, as Finland traded their goods for Soviet Oil. In 1989 the Soviet Union collapsed and the main market for Finnish export products collapsed as well. This was also the start to the Finnish recession that lasted all the way to the mid 1990s. The recession had its roots deeper; the Finnish government and companies had practised ‘casino’-economics, which means a deregulation in the financial markets. When the government realized that the downturn had started, it was too late for actions. The government went heavily into debt and the unemployment affected as many as almost a fifth of the workforce. In 1991 the country was forced to devalue its currency when the ‘internal’ devaluation had failed. The industry got back to its feet d