Business Index North 2018: Befolkning Næringsliv Forbindelser

CHAPTERS

1. People and the North

People in the north shape the future development of the BIN area. For the
fi rst time this report includes the Arkhangelsk (1) and Murmansk regions in
northwest Russia and regions in northern Norway, Sweden and Finland. In 2016,
the BIN area was home to 3.6 million people, of whom 1.9 million lived in the
Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions.

2. Life and the North

Quality of life depends on individuals’ wellbeing in a society. The concept of
quality of life includes a number of subjective and objective dimensions of
human existence. Subjective dimensions of life in the North include proximity to
nature, work-life balance and Arctic resilience

3. Work in the North

Work brings purpose to human life and creates fi nancial security. On a
country level, employment contributes to economic growth. In order to
understand the structure of work in the north it is important to address both
employment and unemployment.

4. Business in the North

Without growing businesses and high-value creation, arctic regions will fail to
attract investments and innovation activities. Knowledge about trends, the scope
of activity and spatial variation between regions in the BIN area and industries,
gives insight into both progressive areas and challenges we need to address for
further development.

5. Innovations from the North

Core-and-periphery is a recurrent and ongoing debate in regional science.
Much of the literature on business start-ups tends to focus on models
in core areas. An assumption in this literature is that business activity at
large can be explained by access to fi nancial and human capital, and that
peripheral growth is a consequence of growth in the core areas.

6. Maritime transportation in the North

In this chapter, the focus is on maritime activity on the Northern Sea Route
(NSR) the water area off the north coast of Russia - an area extending from
Novaya Zemlya in the west to the Bering Strait in the east and outwards to
the limits of Russia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

7. Connectivity in the North

Connectivity is recognized as a prerequisite for economic development in the
Arctic. Finland’s Chairmanship of the Arctic Council 2017-2019 sets connectivity
as one of the priority areas. Access to broadband is essential for connectivity as
it serves the needs of business, communities and research.