Matti Ylönen
@mattiylonen.bsky.social
720 followers 490 following 120 posts
Academy Research Fellow, project Seeing Like a Tech Firm. On a research leave from my job as a University Lecturer, World Politics, University of Helsinki.
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mattiylonen.bsky.social
Nice to note just that my recent @jcms-eu.bsky.social article "Reconceptualising the Brussels Effect" is now Open Access. The article gives tools to grasp external efforts to derail the EU's global power, how these efforts evolve over time, and to what effect. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reconceptualising the Brussels Effect
The Brussels effect has become a major tool for analysing the global exemplary impact of the European Union (EU) rules in academia and policy-making. It is entering uncharted territory. Heightened co...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
mattiylonen.bsky.social
I had to look up an article from the first issue of the World Development, 1973. They launched the journal with style. (The article was "Fact and Fancy in International Economic Relations" by Thomas Balogh & Peter Balacs – in a very different genre from the econometric studies that prevail today.)
Reposted by Matti Ylönen
lauriholappa.bsky.social
Parhaillaan käydään parlamentaarisia neuvotteluita velkajarrusta. Neuvotteluissa olisi syytä ottaa huomioon myös lakiin sisältyvä niin sanottu turvamarginaalisäädös, jonka myötä sosiaaliturvarahastojen ylijäämät jätettäisiin huomiotta arvioitaessa EU-sääntöjen mukaista 3 prosentin alijäämärajaa. 1/x
mattiylonen.bsky.social
"The paradox of the UN is the decline in its fortunes and prestige at a time when the demand for international management and cooperation, arising from growing interdependence and a burgeoning of global problems, has never been clearer or more insistent." From 1989, but could be from today's news.
mattiylonen.bsky.social
Then he went to Ghana, pivoted to Marxism, and noted in his unfinished biographical essay that "we must ... appear unorthodox, troublesome, dangerous, and disobedient to them who begat us." An untypical IB scholar in today's standards. But then again, so was Raymond Vernon, Edith Penrose, etc.
mattiylonen.bsky.social
I've been back reading Stephen Hymer: a fascinating figure. In his life that was cut short at just 39 years, he kicked off International Business studies with a thesis that revitalized the 1930s monopolistic competition ideas, and was at first deemed "analytically insufficient" for publication. 1/2
Reposted by Matti Ylönen
poliittinentalous.bsky.social
Tuoreessa artikkelissaan dos. Matti Ylönen @mattiylonen.bsky.social ja VTT Laura Nordström @lauranordstrom.bsky.social tarkastelevat teknologiayritysten lobbausta Euroopan unionissa. 1/4
Mainos Poliittinen talous -lehdessä julkaistusta alkuperäisartikkelista, jonka otsikko on "Digijätit Euroopan unionissa: lobbaus alistakapitalismin aikakaudella.
mattiylonen.bsky.social
Today I've been captivated by this project, which I stumbled upon via Spotify's algorithms. I haven’t explored everything yet, but highlighting e.g. Brad Reason's breakbeat tracks with early 2000s feel, and Mikael Ayrapetyan's somber piano pieces. Strange and alluring.
thenoamchomskymusicproject.com
The Noam Chomsky Music Project
The Noam Chomsky Music Project aims to both preserve and celebrate his outlook on the world and amplify his voice through Music.
thenoamchomskymusicproject.com
mattiylonen.bsky.social
One of the joys of academia is struggling with an elusive argument for a long time (even years) and then discovering an old book that helps to settle that matter.
mattiylonen.bsky.social
The autobiography of Charles Kindleberger was interesting—even funny—reading. During this trip in Helsinki, he bought a huge rye bread, mistaking it for a gingerbread. He also visited UNU-WIDER in 1986, struggling to find a mechanical typewriter, as only electric ones were in offer.
Reposted by Matti Ylönen
phdskat.org
Canada becomes the second country (after India) to scale back its taxation of US Big Tech to appease Trump, whereas others (notably the UK) have resisted
Canada scraps tech tax to advance trade talks with Donald Trump
US president had described levy as ‘direct and blatant’ attack on the country
on.ft.com
Reposted by Matti Ylönen
mattiylonen.bsky.social
For those who prefer something shorter to a full-length academic article, here's a press release of the article “What Sustains Flawed Indicators? Unpacking the EU’s Administrative Burden Agenda” (w/ Tero Erkkilä), published at the Policy Studies journal yesterday: www.helsinki.fi/en/news/fair... 1/4
Flawed Impact Metrics Jeopardize EU Deregulation Plans, Study Finds | University of Helsinki
A newly published peer-reviewed study has raised concerns about the evidence base behind the European Union’s long-running efforts to reduce bureaucracy for businesses, suggesting that key measurement...
www.helsinki.fi
mattiylonen.bsky.social
The IEG concluded that the EU's Standard Cost Model's focus on administrative costs made it a narrow measure of social value, as it "ignores any benefits of regulation: [it] can only treat regulation as a burden, cost, or constraint on businesses – but never as something that enables benefits." 4/4
mattiylonen.bsky.social
We also note how this earlier self-criticism mirrored similar concerns raised in 2015 by the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank, which has been another major proponent of the administrative burdens agenda. 3/4
mattiylonen.bsky.social
We highlight how the EC's 2012 report on Regulatory Fitness stated: "the Commission does not believe that setting global targets and/or quantitative formulae for managing the stock of legislation will produce the desired results." Yet, the EC is now back at using such targets and formulae. 2/4
mattiylonen.bsky.social
For those who prefer something shorter to a full-length academic article, here's a press release of the article “What Sustains Flawed Indicators? Unpacking the EU’s Administrative Burden Agenda” (w/ Tero Erkkilä), published at the Policy Studies journal yesterday: www.helsinki.fi/en/news/fair... 1/4
Flawed Impact Metrics Jeopardize EU Deregulation Plans, Study Finds | University of Helsinki
A newly published peer-reviewed study has raised concerns about the evidence base behind the European Union’s long-running efforts to reduce bureaucracy for businesses, suggesting that key measurement...
www.helsinki.fi
mattiylonen.bsky.social
Finally, we lay out a typology of factors that sustain flawed indicators such as the administrative burdens. This article appears in a Special Issue (SI) edited by Ali Saqer. The analysis is directly relevant e.g. to the debates on the EU’s omnibus directives and the Competitiveness Compass. 5/5
mattiylonen.bsky.social
Further, we track 4. The active and so far almost completely unexplored involvement of the World Bank and the OECD in this policy diffusion; and 5. The curious persistence of the administrative burden agenda despite its evident, long-standing flaws and omissions. 4/5
mattiylonen.bsky.social
We trace and analyze: 1. The roots of the administrative burden agenda, beginning with the 1990s Dutch experiments; 2. The questionable methodologies of these quantifications; 3. Their diffusion throughout the EU and globally with an exceptional, disproportionate reliance on consultants 3/5
mattiylonen.bsky.social
With Tero Erkkilä, our new article tackles the neglected area of flawed methodologies and strange politics of "administrative burdens". This has been some eight years in works and I'm so relieved to get it out, now that it’s (unfortunately) timelier than ever. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... 2/5
What sustains flawed indicators? Unpacking the EU's administrative burden agenda
Von der Leyen’s second Commission made reducing firm-level administrative burdens its signature agenda for the European Union (EU). Our analysis showcases how this policy agenda emerged, tracing th...
www.tandfonline.com
mattiylonen.bsky.social
Von der Leyen’s Commission has pursued a small set of priority agendas, each typically associated with extensive and critical academic scrutiny. A notable exception is the push to reduce “administrative burdens.” This agenda has seen a striking lack of critical, peer-reviewed scholarship. 1/5
mattiylonen.bsky.social
A less visible side of the academia: starting my fourth peer review comment in two weeks and two more to go, a personal record. Three are 2nd round reviews, which are kind of obligatory. One is for a Finnish-language journal, with a small reviewer pool. Luckily, many interesting papers in this pile.
mattiylonen.bsky.social
Congrats Rosie! Looks super interesting.
Reposted by Matti Ylönen
johnholbein1.bsky.social
What do tax cuts for the rich do?

They increase inequality.

They have no effect on economic growth or unemployment.

"Our results provide strong evidence against the influential political–economic idea that tax cuts for the rich ‘trickle down’ to boost the wider economy."