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During the 2010s, both Finland and Sweden made advancements in their parental leave systems by widening the right to paid parental leave to a greater diversity of family constellations and investing in gender-equal leave distribution through longer leave periods reserved for the father. However, in the latter respect, Sweden has remained more successful than Finland. This article analyses government and political party discourses in Finland and Sweden during the 2010s in pursuit of an explanation to this difference and for understanding how ideas on social inclusion and gender equality have been used to drive, or block, policy reforms in the field of parental leave. The results show that the parental leave discourses have become influenced by ideas on social inclusion and gender equality in both countries, but in somewhat different ways. While gender equality has retained a stronger position in the Swedish discourse and its policy, social inclusion, and notably the rights of same-sex parents, have become more visible in the Finnish. However, the results also show that both ideas have remained contested on a party level, especially by confessional and nationalist-populist parties.

This article investigates government‐level intentions on work/family reconciliation policies in Finland and the Netherlands. By analyzing the coalition programs between 1995 and 2016, it traces three dominant ideas of equal treatment, employment promotion, and social investment in the reconciliation policy discourses in these countries. The content analysis shows a general tendency toward labor promotion in both countries and weak steps toward social investment have been taken. The dominant ideas seem, however, reasonably stable over time.

This article contributes to the quantitative analysis of international differences in executive compensation with a novel emphasis on the role of political drivers—specifically, labor power, owner power, and executive power—while controlling for market factors. It leverages nested analysis, pairing a 2016 cross-sectional analysis of 179 firms in 20 countries with case studies of Finland, from 1971 to 2017, and the United States, from 1936 to 2016. The 2016 cross-sectional analysis of the world's largest firms finds market forces are important, but leave a large portion of international differences in top executive compensation unexplained. Also important are labor power and executive power. Similarly, while controlling for market forces, the longitudinal case studies of large firms in the US and Finland each find stronger labor power relative to executive power associated with lower executive pay. The theoretical framework advanced in this paper helps to explain why top CEO pay—and consequent top-end income inequality—are each extreme in certain countries and periods, and modest in others.

The study examined changes in active ageing among 65/66- and 75/76-year-olds in northern Sweden and western Finland. Data were retrieved from a repeated cross-sectional survey conducted in 2005 and 2016. Logistic regression was used to estimate the probability of ageing actively in terms of employment, social and political participation, confidence in healthcare, economic situation, self-rated health and social contacts. The results showed no significant changes in employment, social participation or economic situation. However, the level of political participation and self-rated good health was significantly higher in 2016 compared with 2005, whereas confidence in healthcare and social contacts was lower. Considering that the implementation of active ageing policies relies heavily on municipal and/or regional level in our study region, our results could be used as a framework for regional policymaking.

AbstractThe study examined changes in active ageing among 65/66‐ and 75/76‐year‐olds in northern Sweden and western Finland. Data were retrieved from a repeated cross‐sectional survey conducted in 2005 and 2016. Logistic regression was used to estimate the probability of ageing actively in terms of employment, social and political participation, confidence in healthcare, economic situation, self‐rated health and social contacts. The results showed no significant changes in employment, social participation or economic situation. However, the level of political participation and self‐rated good health was significantly higher in 2016 compared with 2005, whereas confidence in healthcare and social contacts was lower. Considering that the implementation of active ageing policies relies heavily on municipal and/or regional level in our study region, our results could be used as a framework for regional policymaking.

The Active Ageing Index (AAI) can be applied across countries to compare active aging outcomes, evaluate the current situation regarding ageing, and identify the most desired directions for policy action. While the AAI-EU is addressed on a national level, it can also be used for assessing active ageing policies on the municipal level, which is the case in this study. The aim of this article was to assess active ageing amongst older people in western parts of Finland by adapting the methodology used for the AAI-EU. We used GERDA data (n=5,011) collected from people aged 66, 71, 76, 81 and 86 for our descriptive analyses. The results showed that the municipalities differed in their active ageing outcomes, and that men and Swedish speakers generally scored higher on the index, which is something that warrants further investigation. Based on the results, we argue that AAI could potentially be used as a tool to monitor various dimensions of active ageing on a regional level and that gender and ethno-linguistic characteristics should be a central concern for a discussion on ageing in our study region.

ABSTRACTSince the 1970s, Finland has conducted family policies that could be labelled social investments, for example, investments in work–family balance or public childcare, while at the same time it has protected the economic standard of families with children through various income transfers. However, after the 2008–2009 financial crisis these policies including those with socially investing objectives have been increasingly subjected to cuts in benefit levels and entitlements in order to lower public expenditure, which raises the question if there has been a shift away from social investments and redistribution towards austerity policies. By analysing government programs from the period 2007–2015, this article discusses if, and to what extent, such a change can be traced in the Finnish government discourse. More specifically the article studies the narrative stories used to legitimise changes (reforms) in existing family policy and to what extent these changes were informed by a social investment perspective focusing on 'new' social risks, a traditional redistribution perspective emphasising 'old' social risks, or a neoliberal austerity perspective advocating fiscal austerity and welfare cuts. We argue that the first two perspectives were dominant prior to and during the first phase of the international financial crisis, whereas the third perspective became dominant after the crisis. Moreover, the results show that the main storyline in the legitimisation of the reforms was stories of 'progress' in combination with stories of 'control' and helplessness'.

The Active Ageing Index (AAI) can be applied across countries to compare active aging outcomes, evaluate the current situation regarding ageing, and identify the most desired directions for policy action. While the AAI-EU is addressed on a national level, it can also be used for assessing active ageing policies on the municipal level, which is the case in this study. The aim of this article was to assess active ageing amongst older people in western parts of Finland by adapting the methodology used for the AAI-EU. We used GERDA data (n=5,011) collected from people aged 66, 71, 76, 81 and 86 for our descriptive analyses. The results showed that the municipalities differed in their active ageing outcomes, and that men and Swedish speakers generally scored higher on the index, which is something that warrants further investigation. Based on the results, we argue that AAI could potentially be used as a tool to monitor various dimensions of active ageing on a regional level and that gender and ethno-linguistic characteristics should be a central concern for a discussion on ageing in our study region. ; Aktiivisen ikääntymisen indeksiä (AAI) voidaan soveltaa kaikissa maissa aktiivisen ikääntymisen tulosten vertailemiseksi, ikääntymisen nykytilan arvioimiseksi sekä politiikkatoimien tavoitteiden tunnistamiseksi. Vaikka AAI-EU on suunnattu kansalliselle tasolle, sitä voidaan käyttää myös aktiivisen ikääntymisen politiikan tarkasteluun kuntatasolla, kuten tässä tutkimuksessa. Tämän artikkelin tarkoituksena oli arvioida aktiivista ikääntymistä Länsi-Suomessa AAI-EU:n avulla. Kuvailevassa analyysissä käytimme 66-, 71-, 76-, 81- ja 86-vuotiailta kerättyä GERDA-aineistoa (n = 5011). Tutkimuksemme osoitti, että aktiivisen ikääntymisen tulokset eroavat kuntatasolla ja että miehet ja ruotsinkieliset sijoittuivat indeksissä yleisesti korkeammalle, mikä kaipaa lisätutkimusta. Tulosten perusteella voidaan todeta, että AAI on soveltuva työkalu aktiivisen ikääntymisen seurannassa alueellisella tasolla ja että sukupuolen sekä kieliryhmien ominaispiirteet tulisi huomioida ikäntymistä koskevassa keskustelussa tutkimusalueellamme. ; Ett index för det aktiva åldrandet (AAI) används för att jämföra hur olika länder hanterar en åldrande befolkning och lyfter fram var behoven för olika policyinsatser är som störst. Emedan AAI-EU används för att jämföra situationen i europeiska länder, så kan indexet även användas för att jämföra kommuner, vilket är något som vi gjorde i den här studien. Syftet med studien var således att undersöka det aktiva åldrandet bland äldre i västra Finland genom att använda metodologin som använts för AAI-EU. Vi använde GERDA-data (n=5011) insamlat bland 66-, 71-, 76-, 81-, och 86-åringar för våra deskriptiva analyser. Resultaten visade att det fanns skillnader i det aktiva åldrandet mellan kommunerna. Resultaten visade även att fanns skillnader mellan svensk- och finskspråkiga så att svenskspråkiga placerade sig högre på indexet. Baserat på resultaten från studien så konkluderar vi att ett regionalt AAI kunde användas för att följa upp det aktiva åldrandet på kommunnivå och att skillnader mellan män och kvinnor samt skillnader mellan etnolingvistiska grupper borde lyftas fram i diskussioner om det aktiva åldrandet i vår region.

Purpose
As a member of the Nordic welfare regime, Finland has been acknowledged for its encompassing family policies with high degrees of parental employment and low incidence of poverty. During recent years, however, sluggish growth, high levels of unemployment and recurrent austerity measures have gradually undermined the economic security of families, notably among single-parent and multi-child families, and this has put families under increasing strain and increased the risks of poverty, inequality and other forms of ill-being. The paper aims to discuss these issues.


Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors investigate risks and coping strategies and well-being of Finnish families with children. Family well-being is defined as an umbrella concept covering economic, social or psychological well-being and physical health. The data consist of 22 qualitative semi-structured interviews with parents from the region of Ostrobothnia in Finland and were collected in the winter of 2016–2017.


Findings
Based on the findings, the authors argue that the risks the families in Finland confront are linked to lower well-being, most notably for families encountering sickness, unemployment or divorce. The findings also show that parents have to employ various coping strategies themselves and that the society's support is insufficient.


Originality/value
This paper, thus, contributes to the literature on the effects of austerity policies on families by focussing on the consequences on family well-being, but also on the risks that families face and the coping mechanisms they use for handling with these risks.

Since the economic crisis, many welfare states reformed their social security systems to cut social expenditure, even in policy fields protecting the most vulnerable, such as family policy. Using qualitative content analysis, this article systematically examines reforms pursued in Finnish family policy 2007–2017, and establishes the direction and magnitude of these reforms. The result show that these fields were frequently reformed, containing both expanding and contracting policy adjustments, as well as contracting structural reforms. The result also show that the "Nordic" principle of universalism was slightly weakened and the principle of selectivity somewhat strengthened during this period.

This study aims to access and explore tendencies in the conceptualization of age discrimination and the perceived attitudes towards older people in regions of Finland and Sweden. The analysis draws on GERDA survey data (GErontological Regional DAtabase), a repeated cross-sectional study in which data was collected in 2005 and 2010. The results indicate that the conceptions of age discrimination are changing in a positive direction, which is contrary to results shown in the Eurobarometer. On the basis of balance coefficients we show that conceived attitudes towards older people are changing as well, except for individuals in some sub-groups. We discuss the role of political rhetoric in relation to ageing awareness, the (non)individualization of society and the negotiation of age relations as tentative interpretations that strongly challenge the observed empirical tendencies. ; GERDA (GErontologiska Regional Databas)

The aim of this article is to investigate patterns and drivers of political participation of young people in Finland by using data from the Ostrobothnian Youth survey, a web-based survey conducted in 2010–11 among 1674 ninth-graders in the West-Finnish region of Ostrobothnia. Using the 'resource model' of civic voluntarism as a theoretical framework, the article addresses two research questions: (i) what forms of political participation do ninth-graders principally participate in, and (ii) what are the main drivers of this participation? The results show higher levels of extracurricular political participation in comparison to representational and non-representational political participation. The foremost explanations of political participation were to be found in demographic variables, such as gender and language, but also in psychosocial and political resources. The findings thus offer support for the 'resource model', but also suggest that the association between resources and political participation is conditioned by the type of participation.

The turmoil created by the financial crisis and economic recession in Europe has served as an impetus for austerity measures in many countries. In this article, we ask whether these crises have also triggered reforms in family policy, and we focus on three European welfare states – Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom – countries that are often considered members of different family policy regimes. The article addresses two main research questions. The first one relates to the number, direction and magnitude of family policy reforms in these three countries since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008/2009, while in the second we discuss whether the reforms observed during this period can be seen as being related to the financial crisis and its later repercussions on the Euro-zone area, or if there are other explanations.

As public provision of health and social care to older adults remains fixed or is scaled back, informal care is increasingly emphasised in policy and in practice. This is also the case in the Nordic welfare state of Finland. Little is known about how individual care arrangements are made. In this study, the capability approach is used to investigate the processes from resources to the actual functionings of receiving care of one older informal care recipient across time. The results reveal difficulties, discontinuity and unpredictability that challenge the capabilities to achieve valued beings and doings.