Pentti Saikkonen and Timo Teräsvirta awarded Eino H. Laurila national income medal

The Eino H. Laurila national income medal for 2011 has been granted to Professor Pentti Saikkonen and Professor Timo Teräsvirta. The medals are granted in recognition of their internationally distinguished research in the field of time series econometrics.

Pentti Saikkonen, DSocSc, is Professor of Statistics at the University of Helsinki. He has studied the theory of time series econometrics and conducted several significant studies in the field of unit root and co-integration econometrics and on the models and methods applicable to modelling volatility. The time series models and modelling techniques and statistical tests developed by him constantly produce new openings for empirical research in macroeconomics and financing.

Timo Teräsvirta, DPolSc, is Professor of Economics at Aarhus University. He has substantially contributed to research related to nonlinear time series models and statistical tests and modelling techniques connected to their analysis. The smooth transition time series models with extensions developed by him have become popular in present empirical studies in macroeconomics and financing, which aim to take into account constant changes in the structures of the economy.

The medals will be handed over to Pentti Saikkonen and Timo Teräsvirta at the XXXIV Annual Meeting of the Finnish Economic Association in Vaasa on Thursday, 9 February 2012.

The Eino H. Laurila national income medal is awarded in recognition of noteworthy work to advance the development and application of economic descriptive systems, and promote knowledge about them. A further aim of the medal is to nurture interaction between economic research and practical work on the compilation of statistics. Decisions about awarding of the medal are made by the Ekonomiska Samfundet in Finland, the Finnish Statistical Society, the Finnish Economic Association, Statistics Finland and the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation. The first medal was awarded to Professor Eino H. Laurila in 1993 for his extensive work on the development of Finnish national accounts.

Further information:
Ari Tyrkkö, Director, Statistics Finland, +358 9 1734 3261; email: firstname.lastname@stat.fi
Annual Meeting of the Finnish Economic Association