Menon Economics has on behalf of Nordic Innovation written a report on female entrepreneurship in the Nordics. In the report, we investigate the current entrepreneurial landscape in the Nordics, using data from the statistical agencies in the Nordics and Bureau Van Djik. Even though the Nordic countries are viewed as forerunners on gender equality, far fewer women than men are starting businesses. Also, even though the Nordics are considered to be culturally similar, there are clear differences in the share of female entrepreneurs across the Nordics.

In the study, we provide an overview of factors that may help explain this, looking both at personal characteristics and preferences of the entrepreneurs, and structural factors outside the independent entrepreneurs’ control. The study is concluded with measures to stimulate female entrepreneurship, related to role-models and networks, access to external financing, and competitive disadvantages in industries where women start businesses.

In this project Menon Economics has mapped the economic performance of the world leading business cluster GCE Blue Maritime. The report shows the historic development in the cluster and provides an outlook on economic performance in the coming years. The statistics and prognosis are based on a comprehensive collection of data from accounts, survey data collected in the project and internationally renowned maritime information databases.

The 2019 report shows that activity incraesed in 2018 after declining revenues from 2014 through 2017. Revenue is expected to grow further in 2019 and 2020 with an estimated increase in income of 20 per cent from 2018 to 2020. The increased activity comes as a result of continued growth in relatively new market segments.

The Møre yards have taken a strong position in the market for exploration cruises and are set to deliver 15 of the 40 cruise vessels under 50 000 GT currently on order with a delivery date before 2022. As a result, the equipment manufacturers are increasingly shifting their focus towards deliveries for cruise vessels as well.

Offshore shipping companies continue to struggle. Market conditions are still harsh, even though there looks to be some light on the horizon higher fleet utilisation. The Norwegian and Møre offshore shipping companies still, like last year, seem to be more indebted than their foreign counterparts, which makes it harder to compete against foreign competitor

Menon Economics har vurdert verdiskapingspotensialet som ligger i en norskbasert industri for flytende havvind, med hensyn til markedsutvikling og global konkurransekraft. Studien er gjennomført på oppdrag fra Norwegian Offshore Wind Cluster i samarbeid med Eksportkreditt Norge, Norges Rederiforbund, Norsk Industri, GCE NODE, Haugaland Vekst og Greater Stavanger.

Norske aktører står bak sentrale teknologikonsepter i den pågående utviklingen innen flytende havvind, og kompetansen fra olje- og gassektoren bidrar til et betydelig potensial for å ta andeler i et globalt marked.

Menon Economics have examined the potential for value creation in the Norwegian floating offshore wind power industry, with a focus on market development and global competitiveness. The study was conducted on behalf of Norwegian Offshore Wind Cluster, in collaboration with Export Credit Norway, Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, GCE NODE, Haugaland Vekst and Greater Stavanger.

Executive summary in English.

The Leading Maritime Capitals report for 2019 is out, with fresh insight on which maritime metropolises provide the best support for companies in shipping and related services. Criteria include soft and hard infrastructure and access to world-class talent and services – all key components that maritime businesses need to thrive in their chosen locations.

This report aims to sum up and show some examples of the results of the ecosystem services projects carried out for Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM). It illustrates which ecosystem services we receive from Nordic nature and the importance of these. It also shows examples of how the ecosystem services approach has been and can be used in management of nature in the Nordic countries, and to point out some knowledge gaps.

På oppdrag for Nordisk ministerråd (NMR) har Menon senter for miljø- og ressursøkonomi, MERE, utarbeidet en policy brief om nordiske økosystemtjenester – eksempler, anvendelser og kunnskapshull. Briefen gir oversikt over gjennomførte studier i regi av NMR, hvilke økosystemer og økosystemtjenester som er dekket og hvorvidt man har oppgitt økonomiske verdier for tjenestene. Økosystemtjenester fra ferskvann, marine områder og kystvann er spesielt godt dekket. Det mangler fortsatt økonomiske verdier for mange, for ikke å si de fleste økosystemtjenestene. Slike økonomiske verdsettingsestimater kan være nyttige i mange policyanvendelse, og rapporten anbefaler at fremtidige studier fremskaffer slike verdier for flere økosystemtjenester.

Rapporten kan også lastes ned på Nordisk ministerråds hjemmeside.

Menon Economics has once again produced the annual status report for the Blue Maritime Cluster in Møre og Romsdal. The report documents how the maritime cluster in Møre og Romsdal has developed in recent years and how the cluster has performed compared against competitors in Norway and abroad. It also provides estimates of expected trends in 2018 and an outlook for 2019 and beyond.

Key findings
After a rough transformation since the oil-price shock in 2014, the Blue Maritime cluster can finally look forward to increased activity in 2018. The cluster has managed to reorient itself away from its strong dependency on the offshore oil and gas market and the companies are now well-positioned in key growth markets. The orderbooks are increasing, and there are expectations of increasing revenues in all segments.

This publication is the fifth in its series ordered by the Federation of Norwegian Industries and paints a brighter view of the short-term prospects in the industry than last year’s publication. The industry has been successful in reorienting itself towards new markets as a response to lower demand from the offshore oil and gas segment. The report describes changes that have occurred in the market and gives interesting insight into how the companies have adapted in challenging markets. We believe the toughest years of the recent downturn are behind us and we trust the industry is well positioned for the upturn we think is coming.

Rapporten presenterer økonomiske nøkkeltall for norske maritime utstyrsleverandører i perioden 2004-2017, samt prognoser for 2018 og 2019. Undersøkelsen viser at det forventes økt aktivitet blant utstyrsleverandørene de neste årene. Omsetningen vokser i 2018 for første gang på fire år, mens sysselsettingen er stabil sammenlignet med 2017. Sterk vekst i nye markedssegmenter, spesielt i leveranser til ekspedisjonscruise og fiskeskip, driver den positive utviklingen i 2018. Veksttakten forventes å øke i 2019, med en estimert omsetningsvekst på 13 prosent og tre prosent økning i antall sysselsatte. Analysen er skrevet på oppdrag fra Maritim Bransjeforening i Norsk Industri.

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the links between public support to startups in Norway and subsequent supply of new private equity capital to these firms. We apply a unique database covering all startups in Norway during the period 2006 and 2010 and have linked the database to a recently established public policy database for Norway covering all firm level state support schemes during the same period. We find that public support to startups is followed by significantly higher growth in new equity capital in the years following treatment. This result is robust for alternative econometric specifications, yet it is not robust for choice of startup characteristics. Startups that already have obtained growth do not display any stronger growth in supply of new equity capital post treatment. This finding may indicate that firms that have obtained growth already have sufficient access to private capital. Their financial track record is a clear signal of quality to the market, hence a signal through a public support scheme does not affect private willingness to invest. Other startups to experience significantly stronger growth in access to new equity capital if they have been awarded government support. One may argue that this result is consistent with the idea that participating in a public sector support scheme is viewed as a sign of quality among private investors. Our small-scale early stage investor survey provides strong support for this hypothesis.

Menon Economics and DNV GL are proud to present the “Leading Maritime Nations of the World” 2018. The new report follows up the 2017 report by Menon and DNV GL on the Leading Maritime Capitals of the World 2017, but shifts the focus to an extensive review of the maritime industry at the national level.
The ranking digs deep into a broad range of indicators on maritime capabilities and performance, and the research provides a holistic perspective of countries that influence the shape of the future international maritime activities in the world to stakeholders in the maritime industry.

This study provides an objective analysis of the different countries’ global position as maritime nations using a comprehensive benchmarking framework. The results are an indication of the overall development in a country over several decades, and to some extent mirror the economic growth and size of a nation’s economy. The presence of several small, high income economies among the top 10 leading maritime nations indicates the importance of policy measures and public institutions, including high investment in R&D, innovation and tertiary education focusing on the maritime sector at a national level.

Menon har sammen med NCG evaluert arbeidsdeling mellom norske ambassader og Utenriksdepartementet på bistandsområdet. Evalueringen viser at ambassadene har fått en noe mindre sentral rolle innen bistand enn hva de hadde for få år siden. Vi finner at samarbeidet på et overordnet nivå fungerer godt, men at det er utfordringer knyttet til opplevd manglende kompetanse om bistand i Utenriksdepartementet, samt utfordringer med overlapp internt i UD og mellom Norad og UD. Menon anbefaler en egen karrierevei for bistand for å styrke bistandskompetansen fremover
Ved spørsmål, ta kontakt med Sveinung Fjose.