Estonia and Finland have centuries of collaboration, mainly between the capital areas of Tallinn and
Helsinki that currently account for 2 million inhabitants and USD 76 billion in economic output. The entry
of Estonia into the European Union and, since the mid-2000s, a two-hour ferry trip, have both facilitated
flows of people and merchandise across the Gulf of Finland. The different levels of development between
Helsinki and Tallinn result in many asymmetric flows (workers to Helsinki, tourists to Tallinn). Beyond
infrastructure and labour market issues, there are interesting opportunities for joint innovation policy
efforts given their shared strengths such as in ICT, a dynamic start-up environment and technologically
sophisticated public services. Cross-border collaboration can help build an “entrepreneurial knowledge
region” brand. This case study is part of the project Regions and Innovation: Collaborating Across
Borders. A summary of this working paper appears in a report of the same name.
