Finnish Journal of Social Research is an annually published peer-reviewed journal focusing on research articles relevant to Finnish society. Its scope is multi-disciplinary, covering sociology, political science, and economics, as well as the other social sciences. The articles published in the journal are to be based on high-quality data and appropriate methods, quantitative or qualitative. All published articles are double-blind peer reviewed by at least two experts. We accept submissions throughout the year. Articles will be published online (advance access) once they have been accepted.
Turun korkeakoulujen yhteiskunnallistaloudellinen tutkimusyhdistys ry
When submitting the final (accepted) version of their manuscript to Finnish Journal of Social Research, authors agree to the following terms: 1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in Finnish Journal of Social Research. 2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in Finnish Journal of Social Research. These terms are in effect from September 2020. For articles published before this time, copyright is shared between the journal and the authors.
Conflicting discourses — Social constructions of corruption in Finland
The Nordic countries are generally regarded as beacons of anti-corruption. This perception also applies to Finland, where corruption is said to be conspicuous by its absence. The article at hand, however, conveys a more nuanced picture of corruption in Finland. It delves into opinions submitted during the formulation of the Finnish anti-corruption strategy, identifying two conflicting corruption-related discourses. The analysis shows that corruption is a contested concept and that views on corruption prevalence and the need for anti-corruption measures vary greatly within the national context. The article illustrates the struggle between national corruption discourses, arguing that such discourses and their overall context should be analysed thoroughly if corruption efforts are to be grounded in their setting and successful. This is the case regardless of context and thus applicable also to countries perceived as “clean and honest”.
Copyright (c) 2021 Catharina Groop https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Determinants behind the happiness of residents in the Helsinki metropolitan area
This study examines the determinants behind the perceived happiness of residents in the five cities of the Helsinki metropolitan area. A set of variables based on Maslow’s hierarchy was chosen in order to explain the subjective perception of happiness. Maslow’s hierarchy as a theoretical framework worked relatively well. A great deal of the results were in line with expectations and there are structures that clearly distinguish the cities from each other. Some of these structures seem to be connected to stereotypes concerning the examined cities and actually affect happiness in a way that is contrary to these stereotypes. It can even be said that something that is taken for granted, does not actually affect happiness; but despite this, people consider these issues very important.
Copyright (c) 2012 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Monetary conflicts within co-residential unions: a comparative perspective
Although various studies indicate that money is a major source of conflict between cohabiting and marital partners, the existing research on what causes conflict within intimate relationships remains insufficient. Using data from the European Social Survey 2004/2005, this article explores the factors that predict monetary conflict between partners across 23 European countries. Previous research concerning financial conflicts has concentrated on individuallevel factors. This study adds a macro-level perspective to the existing body of research by exploring whether the rate of female labor force participation and societal gender equality are associated with the prevalence of conflict. Individual-level factors, such as personal characteristics, household controls, relative resources, and gender equality, explain the frequency of disagreements. At the macro-level, this study shows that relationship dynamics are affected by the institutional characteristics of countries. In particular, in countries where the rate of female labor force participation is high, conflicts over money are more common. However, societal gender equality does not explain the frequency of conflicts.
Messenger and defender – Timo Soini’s populist leadership and media strategies in winning the elections of 2011
The result of the Finnish parliamentary elections in 2011 was a surprise for many, as the True Finns (TF), a Finnish populist and nationalist political party of 5 parliamentarians, won the elections by boosting its parliamentary power obtaining altogether 39 seats. This article examines the populist leadership and media strategies of the party’s leader, Timo Soini, during the campaigning. Recent studies about the elections of 2011 confirm that the role of Timo Soini was crucial in gaining the votes for his party. However, as a media performer Timo Soini has not received much academic attention. Also the nature and amount of the media publicity of him and TF has remained in short supply. The goal of this article is to start filling that gap. The central assumption is that in the media publicity political leaders try to exploit the situation to their best advantage: create a basis of support for their policies by managing their visibility within the mediated arena. Scrutinizing a populist newcomer party’s leader’s interaction with the media, two central roles come up. To work successfully via the media, the leader needs to be both a messenger and a defender. As a messenger, the central task is to articulate the party’s program, policies and goals as convincingly and grippingly as possible. To work effectively in the media, a leader must also be able to repel the attacks, like criticism or rumours, which endanger the party’s or its leader’s credibility and reputation.
National social science in global society
Mauno Koivisto Lecture 2010: Political dropouts and the effects of participatory innovations
Copyright (c) 2011 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Commitment to employment and organisation: Finland in a European comparison
Employment and organisational commitment are widely endorsed as goals for labour market policy and organisations. However, there are few comparative studies that examine how, in addition to individual characteristics, dimensions of national culture affect employment and organisational commitment. This article compares employment and organisational commitment among employees in Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Spain and Sweden. The main focus is on whether these commitments differ in Finland from those in four other European countries. Finland has seldom been included in this kind of comparative study. Individual-level data come from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP), Work Orientation Module III, collected in 2005–2006. Employment commitment was the highest in Sweden, while organisational commitment was the highest among Germans. Finnish employees did not display particularly high levels of employment commitment: Finns were next to last in this category. Organisational commitment in Finland was on the same level as Spain and Sweden. In all five countries low subjective job insecurity among employees increased organisational commitment. Schwartz’s (2007) cultural dimensions accounted for a significant share of the variance in employment commitment. The data were analysed mainly by using standard multiple regression analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis.
Is there something peculiar about Finnish views on alcohol addiction? – A cross-cultural comparison between four northern populations
Empirical studies have continued to display that Finns get heavily intoxicated more often than other Nordic people. This study asks whether Finnish views on alcohol problems and alcohol addiction differ from those of some other northern populations. This issue is studied by comparing survey results from Finland, Canada, Sweden and St. Petersburg, Russia. The data comprised 3 703 adults and it was analysed with standard descriptive methods and logistic regression analysis. Finnish general population respondents seemed to be at least as concerned about the risk of alcohol dependence as people in the other comparison countries. They also placed higher priority on alcohol problems among other societal problems than the respondents from the comparison countries. In issues of responsibility they were similar to Swedish respondents thus reflecting the common attitudes in Nordic welfare states. Their higher belief in the chances of recovery without treatment seems to reflect the traditional image of Finns as tough and self-sufficient people who can manage their problems on their own without external interference. The logistic regression analysis shows that the country effect still remains although the other sociodemographic variables were taken into account. In addition to this also some other background factors, particularly gender, age and education had some effect on the views. The combination of self-change optimism on the one hand and the general worry about alcohol problems on the other hand suggest that the cultural ambivalence towards alcohol consumption has not been fully resolved. This ambivalence could also be seen to contribute to the tradition of heavy binge drinking in Finland.
The sources of generalized trust and institutional confidence in Europe
Besides the exponential growth of written pages on social capital and trust, we have seen a considerable increase in empirical comparative studies on the topic. Despite that, it is not always clear how differences between individual and aggregate level factors are taken into account when exploring the sources of trust. The purpose of the article is to find out a) what the explanatory power of individual and country level factors is when explaining generalized and institutional trust among the Europeans and b) what the most essential differences are in the determinants of social capital between different types of European welfare states. The data come from the European Social Survey (ESS 2004). Multilevel analyses are accomplished in order to combine different levels of data and explanations. The results reveal many similarities but also remarkable differences in the generation of horizontal and vertical trust between different types of welfare states and support hypotheses emphasizing institutional characteristics of the states in the generation of trust.
Attributions for poverty in Finland: a non-generic approach
This article analyses three specific categories of the poor – immigrants, families with children and the retired – and compares the perceptions gained from this analysis to generic attributions of the causes of poverty. It examines whether different explanations can be attributed to certain socio-economic characteristics and political ideologies. The data derive from a survey conducted in Finland in 2008. The results indicate that the public shares distinctive causal beliefs when it comes to the different categories of the poor. When moving from the retired to families with children and to immigrants, support for explanations that blame the individual increases and support for explanations that blame structural conditions decreases. In addition, when the poor are divided into specific categories the dominant three-tier typology of poverty explanations does not seem to hold. Instead, the public is more likely to distinguish between internal and external reasons for non-generic poverty. The results suggest that the hypotheses of in-group favouritism and self-interest are supported. In addition, political ideology is strongly associated with attributions for poverty.
The intergenerational correlation of social assistance and selection bias in the Finnish population data
Using the social assistance register we were able to study intergenerational correlations of social assistance recipiency in Finland and how the length of the observation window for identifying recipiency affects on the correlation coefficients. Parents’ social assistance was observed in 1990, and that of their children aged 18–32 was observed in 2005. The intergenerational correlation was .15 on average when the observation window was a calendar year for both parents and children. The correlation varied substantially according to the length of the observation window, the gender and the age of child. The intergenerational correlation was stronger in the early twenties (.20), and substantially lower (.10) in the early thirties. The correlation was stronger for boys (.19) than for girls (.12). As expected from the theory and previous studies, a shorter observation window for parents yielded higher estimates for the intergenerational correlation, and a shorter observation window for children yielded lower estimates. There are two sources of bias when using a shorter observation window. The downward identification bias results when households receiving social assistance for a short spell outside the observation window are classified as non-recipients. The upward selection bias results when households receiving long-term social assistance are over-represented as compared to parents who receive social assistance only for a short spell. These two sources of bias operate in a complex way and the direction of bias they cause for the intergenerational correlation is essentially an empirical question. Hence, when drawing (policy) conclusions from studies on intergenerational correlations, one should keep in mind that the correlation estimates are very sensitive to the length for the observation windows and to the life stage when the children’s social assistance recipiency is observed.
On scientific expertise and research results
Employees’ Satisfaction with the Balance Between Work and Leisure in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark - Time Use Perspective
This study aims at investigating the level of satisfaction with the allocation of time between work and leisure, and possible explaining factors, among the employed in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Using the European Social Survey (ESS) Round 3 data from 2006, it is possible to make competent quantitative comparisons between the Nordic countries (excluding Island which did not participate in the ESS data collection). Multilevel modelling (GLM) was used for data analyses. Only those respondents to the ESS survey who were currently employed were included in the analysis. The results show that the Danish employees are the most satisfied and the Swedish employees the least satisfied with the division of time between work and other aspects of life. In all the four countries, work-related rather than family-related or other leisure-oriented factors predicted the level of satisfaction. Socio-economic and family-related factors predicted satisfaction at the country level, but did not account for common explanatory factors. However, it may be that those who are potentially the most dissatisfied due to difficulties in combining work and family are not at work at all, and thus not involved in the study. The observed differences between the countries are discussed in the present article. To conclude from the results of this study, poor work content reduces temporal commitment to work, and accordingly, time use as a central element of individual well-being should not be ignored.
Copyright (c) 2010 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Is Finland Different? Quality of Work Among Finnish and European Employees
The issue of the quality of work-life has risen in popularity due to concerns about the economic and social sustainability of European societies. Throughout the continent, global competition, technological change and the intensification of work are common developments which are seen to affect the well-being of the workforce. Nevertheless, European countries differ substantially in terms of job quality. According to earlier research, employees in Sweden and Denmark (and to lesser extent in Finland) report a higher quality of work tasks than elsewhere in Europe. The aim of this paper was to investigate, in a cross-national context using multivariate techniques, whether job quality in Finland really is divergent from that of other Nordic countries and rest of the Europe. Empirical analyses were based on the fourth wave of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) collected in 2005. In this study we used data from the 25 Member States of the European Union and Norway (n=21,196 interviews). Our results support earlier findings that Finland lags behind other Nordic countries in terms of work discretion and the perceptions of being well paid. Instead, Finnish employees were less worried about health issues. When comparing Finland to Scandinavia, we did not find major differences in the amount of highly skilled jobs, insecurity nor the quantity of jobs requiring great effort. We also examined the associations of the dimensions of job quality to job satisfaction. The results indicated that the subjective aspects of job quality were more important determinants of job satisfaction, and that there were only modest differences in the determinants of job satisfaction between country clusters.
“This can’t happen here!” Community Reactions to School Shootings in Finland
The recent school shootings in Jokela and in Kauhajoki received immediate worldwide media coverage on mass violence in a welfare society. This article examines community response to these incidents. We have gathered comparable survey data from the local communities Jokela (N=330) and Kauhajoki (N=319). Both surveys were conducted approximately six months after the shootings, and they represent local adult populations. With these data, we analyse the reactions of local residents to the shootings. We focus on questions such as whether the shootings were considered isolated tragedies or not, and whether they could have been prevented or not. The article considers what implications these recent critical incidents may have for Finland as a Nordic welfare society.
An Econometric Examination on the Share of Land Value of Single-family Housing Prices in Helsinki
This study brings empirical evidence on the importance of land value on housing prices in Helsinki Metropolitan Area (HMA). Utilizing econometric analysis and a quarterly dataset over 1988Q1-2008Q2, the results show that the value of land accounts for a significant fraction of single-family housing prices in HMA. In 2000-2007 the share of the land value component is estimated to be almost 50% of housing prices, on average. In line with prior expectations, the results also suggest that the land value component of housing has increased over time. The notable role and increase of the land value component has implications regarding housing price volatility. Since land prices appear to be more volatile than construction costs, it is anticipated that greater share of the land value component leads to more volatile housing prices. Given the significant role that housing wealth appears to play in the overall economy, this is of importance also for the economic policy makers.
Social Sciences and the Current Economic Downturn?
Social Differentiation of Musical and Literary Taste Patterns in Finland
Music and literature are analysed in terms of liking different cultural genres following a three-step analytical strategy. First, the distributions of likes/dislikes of different music and literary genres are examined. Second, we examined how the genres are interrelated. Third, we investigated how interrelating genres condensed into different taste patterns can be explained by five background variables: gender, age, education, income and residential area. In addition, there is a short analysis of the connections among taste patterns across the two cultural areas. The results suggest clear social differentiation in tastes, both in music and in literature, in Finland. Age and especially gender proved to be at least as important as education in explaining musical and literary taste patterns in general and highbrow tastes in particular. Three major correlations representing ‘highbrow’, ‘popular folk’ and ‘popular action’ tastes across the two cultural areas were found, indicating clear homologies between musical and literary taste.
Copyright (c) 2009 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Connection of Cultural Capital with Success in Master’s Degree Programmes in Finnish Higher Education
This article deals with the effects of cultural capital on attainment in higher education using Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital as a frame of reference. Attainment and success in higher education is perceived as a combination of multiple variables being the grade point average of the student’s higher education studies, the age at graduation, the time of graduation and the amount of credits studied. Participants of this survey study were 499 university graduates from six different disciplines from the University of Turku, Finland. Results indicate that cultural capital, as well as the variables comprising it, has an effect on educational attainment even though this effect is not a straightforward one
The Others as impediments to ‘integration’ into Finnish society: the case of exchange students in higher education
Very few studies have tackled the case of exchange students in Finnish society, though their increasing presence is valued and urged by Finnish authorities. This article deals with the intricate concept of “integration” through a discourse analysis of what exchange students in Finland have to say about Otherness. Based on a critical approach to the concepts of integration and politics of differences, the study demonstrates how discourses on the Same, the foreign other and the local (Finns) point to certain patterns in the ways psychological integration is conceptualized by French exchange students in Finland. The study shows how these Others represent impediments to ‘integration’ into Finnish society. Finally, I ask if the predominance of differentialist discourses of integration in this context could be replaced by an alternative vision based on a mélange or mixing understanding of differences.
Voluntary associations and trust in Finland
The international comparison shows that particularly in the Nordic countries, people participate in associations on a vast scale. However, it is also important to note that while the old politicalideological associations have lost some of their importance in Finland, several new kinds of associations have emerged. Thus it is relevant to ask whether connections between trust and association activity vary between different types of associations. Empirical analysis shows that the members of only certain types of associations – charity associations, sports associations, and cultural associations – were found to be more trusting after various background variables had been elaborated. It was found that, in particular, the number of association memberships has a connection with a stronger level of trust. Even though memberships in associations have a statistically significant link to the trust that people experience, the percentages of variance explained are low.
Copyright (c) 2008 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Tourism consumption revisited - An empirical study of Finnish consumers
According to postmodern theories, social divisions are based on identity and lifestyle rather than on sociodemographic background. In this paper, the effects of these both were examined. Tourism consumption was divided into two dimensions, tourism consumption and desire to travel more. Empirical analysis were based on two nation-wide surveys, Finland 1999 and Finland 2004. Sociodemographic factors were assumed to influence more on tourism consumption than on desire to travel more. The results were somewhat parallel with the hypothesis. However, both demographics and lifestyle determinants should be taken into account. The effects have remained quite stable regardless of the finding that desire to travel more has decreased while tourism consumption has increased.
Defining legitimate taste in Finland: Does mother tongue matter?
Finns are said to be homogenous when it comes to cultural taste. However, the division between the Finnish-speaking majority and the Swedish-speaking minority is often considered significant. Previous study shows that the Swedish-speakers are statistically better-off when it comes to issues such as income and health. The stereotype of the Swedish-speakers is that in cultural consumption they represent upper-class taste. Most contemporary theory claims that the notion of legitimacy itself is changing. The paper examines ideas of legitimate taste brought up in twenty focus groups. We shall compare the linguistic groups and form a picture of what type of culture is considered legitimate by which group. In the end we aim to answer the question of what legitimate taste in the Finnish context means. The paper is based on a focus group study that serves as a pilot research for the project Cultural Capital and Social Differentiation in Contemporary Finland.
Family Structure and Adolescent Victimization in Finland: Investigating the Stepfamily as a Source of Risk
Sociological research on family structure suggests that living in a stepfamily may constitute an important risk factor for a number of outcomes of adolescent well-being. In our data, the prevalence of violent victimization is significantly higher among children from stepfamilies than among those living in either single parent or intact two-parent families. In an effort to develop an explanation for the stepfamily effect, we draw on two theoretical perspectives, the stress-conflict model and evolutionary psychology. The mediating variables derived from the stress-conflict model explain a meaningful share of the increased risk associated with stepfamily status. By contrast, our research finds little support for the assumptions of evolutionary psychology.
Labour force dynamics and the obesity gap in female unemployment in Finland
In this paper we analyse the obesity gap in female unemployment in Finland. A growing body of research has documented that women suffer from obesity penalties in the labour market, whereas men do not. In this paper, we focus on the link between obesity and female unemployment. Since the obesity gap in unemployment may be due to both worker and employer behaviour, our approach provides an interesting test case for analysing various hypotheses put forward to explain the obesity gap in labour market rewards. With data from the Finnish component of the European Community Household Panel, we start by decomposing the obesity gap in unemployment rates to transitions between labour market statuses. The results show that the difference in transitions from unemployment to employment is the most important component of the difference in unemployment rates. We further analyse this transition by performing event-history analyses of the transitions from unemployment to employment and by looking into the job search behaviour of obese versus non-obese women. The obesity gap in transitions from unemployment to employment remains after controlling for human capital and demographic features. Neither do obese women differ from their non-obese peers in job search behaviour. We conclude that employer discrimination is an important explanation of the obesity gap in female unemployment.
Why does Finnish social research need an international journal?
Copyright (c) 2021 Jani Erola, Pekka Räsänen https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
In search of healthcare system ideal types — Changeable classifications and dimensions
This article aims to classify the healthcare systems of 43 developed economies into different healthcare system types, and to examine whether the dimensions of health system characteristics produce coherent health system classification when the dimensions are observed separately. We group health systems into different types based on their institutional structures and performance using healthcare financing, healthcare provision and health outcomes as dimensions of the health system characteristics. Unlike previous classifications, we classify each dimension separately using hierarchical cluster analysis. In particular dimensions, our results resemble those found in previous classifications. However, no coherent clustering of healthcare systems was found across the three dimensions. The results show that healthcare system dimensions differ from each other and each of them form their unique system types. Separating the dimensions helps detecting connections between the healthcare system types and phenomena being studied. It is relevant to note the differences of health system dimensions while discussing healthcare system classifications. Terveydenhuoltojärjestelmien ideaalimalleja etsimässä — Häilyvät luokittelut ja ulottuvuudet Abstrakti Tämän artikkelin tavoitteena on (1) luokitella 43 kehittyneen maan terveydenhuoltojärjestelmiä eri terveydenhuoltojärjestelmätyyppeihin ja (2) tarkastella tuottavatko järjestelmien ulottuvuudet yhtenäisen terveysjärjestelmäluokittelun myös silloin, kun luokittelu tapahtuu kunkin ulottuvuuden perusteella. Luokittelemme terveysjärjestelmät eri tyyppeihin niiden institutionaalisten rakenteiden ja suorituskyvyn perusteella. Terveysjärjestelmäpiirteiden ulottuvuuksina käytämme terveydenhuollon rahoitusta, terveydenhuollon järjestämistapoja ja kansalaisten terveydentilaa. Toisin kuin aiemmissa luokitteluissa, luokittelemme jokaisen ulottuvuuden erikseen klusterianalyysin keinoin. Tuloksemme ovat osittain samankaltaisia aiempien tutkimustulosten kanssa. Yhtenäistä terveydenhuoltojärjestelmien ryhmittelyä ei kuitenkaan löytynyt mainittujen kolmen ulottuvuuden kesken. Tulokset osoittavat, että terveydenhuoltojärjestelmien ulottuvuudet eroavat toisistaan ja jokainen niistä muodostaa omat ainutlaatuiset järjestelmämallinsa. Ulottuvuuksien erotteleminen auttaa tunnistamaan yhteyksiä terveydenhuoltojärjestelmätyyppien ja niihin kytkeytyvien ilmiöiden välillä. Olennaista on kiinnittää huomiota terveysjärjestelmien ulottuvuuksien välisiin eroihin terveydenhuoltojärjestelmien luokittelussa. Avainsanat: terveydenhuoltojärjestelmätypologia, terveydenhuoltojärjestelmäluokittelu, terveydenhuoltojärjestelmämallit, hierarkkinen klusterianalyysi, terveydenhuoltojärjestelmien ulottuvuudet
Copyright (c) 2021 Iris Moolla, Heikki Hiilamo, Antti Kouvo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Metagovernance challenges in regional development: A comparison of Sweden, Denmark and Finland
Regional councils collaborate with municipalities, government agencies, universities, non-governmental organisations, and businesses when forming regional development policies in Nordic countries. Political representatives use metagovernance to steer this collaborative process, but previous research shows that politicians often struggle with metagovernance. There are few empirical studies on metagovernance and little is known about how institutional context affects it. This article comparatively explores the political metagovernance of regional development in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, studying what metagovernance challenges politicians encounter and how institutional contexts shape their perceptions. The study uses survey data from 1006 regional council representatives, which are analysed using a mixed- methods approach. Findings reveal common metagovernance challenges in regional development, but also show the importance of institutional context. The regional councils’ institutional capacity has a clear impact: Danish and Finnish representatives request more formal powers and resources to develop their metagovernance role, while this is less of an issue among Swedish representatives.
Copyright (c) 2021 Emily Sundqvist https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0