Description

Norway is one of the best-performing Nordic economies, and it is driven by public consumption. The steady economic growth is ensured by a stable banking system, a regulatory environment that encourages entrepreneurial activity, and monetary solidity. Economic growth will strengthen gradually until 2018, supported by a rebound in non-oil investment and high private consumption. The government has adopted an accommodative monetary policy and an expansionary fiscal policy to support economic activity. Exports amount to approximately 40% of the country's GDP. The major exports from Norway to the EU are oil and gas, while manufactured goods are the major imports from the EU to Norway. The European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement has enabled 3 of the 4 EFTA Member States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) to participate in the EU’s internal market. Norway’s level of research and innovation remains low when compared to peers due to the limited spending and the poor efficiency in translating R&D spending into innovation results. Budget 2017's tax credit scheme (SkatteFunn) has increased the annual deductible costs to $3 million (25 million NOK) for self-developed R&D and $6 million (50 million NOK) for R&D purchased from approved institutes.

Logistics hubs in the Nordic region will become business hotspots due to the centralization of production and warehousing. Norway has a challenging topography and a scattered population, and the main logistics hubs are located in close proximity to main highways E6 and E16. Over the next 5 years, Vinterbro, Gardermoen, and Vestby will emerge as new logistics hubs. Communication technologies and digitalization, along with Big Data analytics and IoT, will shape the future of transportation. The MUNIN project, which involves autonomous unmanned ships, fosters innovation in the marine segment. In Scandinavia, national regulators have opted to make rules based on use (private or commercial) and drone size. In addition, the Norwegian Government is working toward a law to facilitate the testing of self-driving vehicles on the country's roads. The impetus for the bill is to make Norway an attractive place to develop and test self-driving vehicle technologies. In the field of sustainable urban logistics, NORSULP will facilitate the deployment of Sustainable Urban Logistics Plans (SULP) in 9 Norwegian municipalities/cities.