ABSTRACT
Finland is a unitary state with well-established principles of good public governance and administrative practices based on the rule of law. The Finnish public sector is extensive with wide sets of public services and income transfer and equalization systems in accordance with the prevailing ideologies of the Nordic welfare states. It is easier to argue why the Finnish public sector has been strong enough to finance public procurements and infrastructure investments without the extensive help of the private finance, than to widely demonstrate the driving factors behind the emergence and development of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). The peculiarity of all Nordic Countries, Finland included, in the international PPP scene can hardly be understood without taking into account the strong financial and political role of the municipalities and municipal joint authorities on the one hand and the process of building up the Nordic universal welfare state on the other.
