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.

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.

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.

On behalf of two international gasoline chains, Menon Economics have investiated the development in the sales of electric vehicles and the development of autonomous vehicles. The attached presentation is a reduced version of this work, but it shows just some of our assessments regarding these subjects. Previously Menon has also analyzed the composition of the Norwegian vehicle fleet towards 2035 based on technological development, changing consumer preferences and more, and how this will affect future fuel demand.

A Nordic project team, lead by Menon Economics in cooperation with Oxford Research and the Social Science Research Institute of the University of Iceland, has conducted a cross-Nordic study on the economic influence of standards.
The study was commissioned as a joint initiative by the Nordic standardization bodies and has benefitted from financial support from Nordic Innovation – an institution that works to promote cross-border trade and innovation between the Nordic countries.

Menon Economics has carried out an End of Project review of a capacity building program in the water supply, wastewater/drainage and solid waste sectors in Vietnam. The capacity building program was designed with the purpose of improving the sustainability of twelve infrastructure projects funded by Norad and the KfW Development bank through a mixed credit scheme. The review is carried out in accordance with the OECD DAC criteria for evaluation of development programs and is based on interviews with stakeholders at five project sites, as well as document studies. We find that the program has had mixed success, with several activities enhancing the capacity of the infrastructure project stakeholders, but that the additionality of some activities is low and their contribution to overall objectives is questionable. The project is carried out under Menon’s framework agreement with KPMG and Norad.

The report combines qualitative and quantitative methods to explore what to consider as a hotel when choosing a hotel affiliation chain in a European context.

The market for luxury hotels is growing and the analysis indicates that the main value drivers for luxury hotels are quality, service and brand affiliation. This makes it highly relevant for individual hotels to enter hotel affiliation chains.

The report looks into the Norwegian affiliation chain: De Historiske Hotel og Spisesteder, and the international ones: Leading Hotels of the World and Relais & Châteaux.