The soft power of a nation - Finland as an example

   Joseph Nye has defined soft power as “the ability to attract co-opt rather than coerce and rather than using force or money as a means of persuasion”. Soft power is a nation’s attractiveness and ability to shape opinions and produce attraction though culture, institutions, political values, and its foreign policy. Soft power provided an influence far beyond the traditional balance-of-power politics.

　Joseph Nye定義軟實力為「不以武力或金錢為手段所進行說服，而達成吸引而非強迫的力量。」軟實力乃是一個國家透過文化、制度、政治價值、與其外交政策，來創造機會與產生吸引力之的吸引力與能力。軟實力較傳統的權力平衡正至更具影響。

   For countries with soft power, their “country brand strength” is a valuable asset. This year, Switzerland was ranked as the world’s best country brand and Finland was 9^th in FutureBrand’s International Country Brand Index (CBI) 2012.

　對於具軟實力的國家而言，它們的「國家品牌強度」是相當珍貴的資產。今年，在FutureBrand的2012年全球國家品牌指標（Country Brand Index, CBI）中，瑞士被評為全球最佳國家、而芬蘭則為第9。

   FutureBrand is part of McCann World group. Its measure and rank global perceptions　and report the CBI annually. For the year of 2012, it has assessed the country brand of 118 countries in the world.

　FutureBrand是McCann World集團的一部份。它每年對全球感知進行評量與排名，並提出CBI報告。2012年，它評估了全球118個國家的國家品牌。

   For Finland, it was ranked as the 4^th in the Stable Legal Environment and Education System categories, and was 5th in health care and in the comparison of the value system of countries.

　對芬蘭而言，它在法律環境穩定度與教育系統類別上被評為第4名、而在健康照護與國家價值系統評比上排名第5。

   The nature environment in Finland was viewed as the 3^rd most beautiful on earth. Due to its progressive politics, it is now one of the world leaders in the issue of environmental awareness.

　芬蘭的天然環境被視為全球第3美。由於其進步的政治，芬蘭現在是環境意識的議題上的全球領航者。

Reference:

*Wikipedia: Soft Power

*Country Brand Index 2012-2013, FutureBrand

The innovative environment of Finland

   Yesterday we talked about the greeninnovation of Nokia, the Finnish enterprise. Today we will talk about the innovative environment of Finland by introducing the GII (global innovation index).

　昨天我們談到芬蘭企業Nokia的綠色創新。今天我們將藉由GII（global innovation index, 全球創新指標）的介紹，來談芬蘭的創新環境。

   Finland has been ranked as the 4^th innovative country in the GII this year. GII is the project that assesses the innovation of an economy/country conducted by INSEAD (INStitut Européen d'ADministration des Affaires) since 2007. The GII project identifies innovation as a key driver to motivate the economic growth and prosperity.

　今年GII將芬蘭評比為最具創新的國家第4名。GII是INSEAD（歐洲工商管理學院）自2007年開始執行，用於評估經濟體/國家創新力的專案。此GII專案視創新力為刺激經濟成長與繁榮的關鍵驅動因素。

   In the latest 5^th edition report released in 2012, the INSEAD had ranked Finland as the 4^th innovative country among all 141 countries/economies, up one position from 5^th in 2011. According to this report, the strengths of Finland include its strong institutional framework (6^th) and a skilled labour force (1^st in the EU, 3^rd globally) engaged in research and patenting. Finland also has a top position in the rankings in political environment. However, the rank of 26^th in market sophistication implies that it is the relative weakness of Finland.

　在2012年所發表的最新第5度報告中，INSEAD在全部141個國家/經濟體裡，將芬蘭評比為第4名，較2011年的第5名進步一名。根據此份報告，芬蘭的強項包括其強件的組織架構（第6名）、與投入研究及專利的技術勞動力（歐盟中第1名、全球第3名）。芬蘭也在政治環境排名上名列前茅。然而，它的市場成熟度僅排第26名，是芬蘭相對較弱之處。

   About market sophistication in Finland, we can refer to the Best Countries for Business Index conducted by Forbes Magazine. Although Forbes ranked Finland as the 13^th best countries for business in 2011, it also pointed out that the challenge for the Finnish market will be the application of a post-recession exit strategy by its government, since Finland has experienced one of the deepest contractions in the euro zone during the economic crisis in 2009. Furthermore, the Finnish market also faces the problem of rapidly aging population and decreasing productivity, which will impact its competitiveness, fiscal sustainability, and economic growth.

　關於芬蘭的市場成熟度，我們可以援引財星雜誌的商業最適國家指標。雖然財星雜誌在2011年將芬蘭評比為第13名，但它也點出芬蘭市場之後所面臨的挑戰，將會是政府的經濟衰退後出場策略，因為芬蘭市場在2009年的經濟危機中，經歷了歐元區最嚴重的緊縮。此外，芬蘭市場尚面臨人口快速老化與生產力降低的問題，而這會影響其競爭力、財政永續發展性、及經濟成長。

Reference:

*TheGlobal Innovation Index 2012, INSEAD

*Forbes Magazine: Best countries for business