Ethnicity and Unemployment in Finland

This research note provides the general findings from a research project analyzing the reasons behind the lower unemployment rate of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, compared with the Finnish-speaking majority. The main conclusion is that the unemployment gap cannot be attributed to ethnic-group differences in age, education, place of residence, or industrial structure. We believe that two latent factors are highly relevant in this context: language proficiency and social integration, although no data presently available provides information about such issues

Language-Group Differences in Very Early Retirement in Finland

The purpose of this paper is to study very early retirement as an indicator for bad health, with focus on a comparison between the two language groups in Finland. Extensive longitudinal data are analysed with the help of random effects probit models. As expected from previous studies of mortality differences, the rate of retirement is lower among Swedish-speakers than among Finnish-speakers, and this cannot be attributed to socio-demographic and regional factors. Swedish-speaking males have a risk of very early retirement that is about 25 per cent lower than that of Finnish-speaking males. Among females the corresponding difference is about 15 per cent. Our results also suggest that not accounting for unobserved individual heterogeneity will bias the effect of native language downwards.native language; early retirement; health; unobserved heterogeneity

Language-group Differences in Very Early Retirement in Finland

The purpose of this paper is to study very early retirement as an indicator for poor health, with focus on a comparison between the two language groups in Finland. Extensive longitudinal data are analysed with the help of random effects probit models. As expected from previous studies of mortality differences, the rate of retirement is lower among Swedish-speakers than among Finnish-speakers, and this cannot be attributed to socio-demographic and regional factors. Swedish-speaking males have a risk of very early retirement that is about 25 per cent lower than that of Finnish-speaking males. Among females the corresponding difference is about 15 per cent. Our results also suggest that not accounting for unobserved individual heterogeneity will bias the effect of native language downwards.early retirement, health, native language, retirement, unobserved heterogeneity

Wealth in Two Ethnic Groups: The Role of Internal Migration Background

This paper studies wealth within an area of Finland that is settled by two ethnic groups: Finnish speakers and Swedish speakers. They are equal and similar in most observable respects, but differ greatly on internal migration background. Most of the Swedish speakers were born in the area, whereas many of the Finnish speakers have migrated into it from other parts of the country. The primary aim of the paper is to analyse whether this differential is interrelated with potential wealth variation. Data covering the years 1991 to 1999 reveal that the Swedish speakers have substantially higher wealth levels than the Finnish speakers, and that variation in economic wellbeing interrelates with whether or not the person was born in the present region of residence. The results suggest that failures in economic assimilation, as discussed in the international migration literature, may be found also when studying people who differ on internal migration background

Ethno-linguistic Groups during an Economic Recession: Low-income Earners in the 1990s’ Finland

Little is known about low-income earners in the Swedish-speaking community in Finland, and particularly how this ethno-linguistic group positioned itself as compared with the Finnish speakers during the severe economic recession in the 1990s. Relating to the ethno-linguistic English-speaking minority in Quebec, we set out to study whether also Swedish speakers experienced a worsening of their economic position. Using register data from 1987–1999, we find that they did not, but rather improved their relative situation as compared with the Finnish speakers, although they on average had a higher propensity for being low-income earners also after the recession. In contrast to the situation in Quebec, no unfavourable language acts or educational reforms were imposed on the Swedish speakers during the study period. We see the results as reflecting a well-functioning welfare state, in which language acts and constitutional rights have worked to protect both ethno-linguistic groups

Labour Market Status at Ages 50–64 and All-Cause Mortality at Ages 65–70: A Longitudinal Study from Finland

Individuals’ labour market status and health are known to be highly correlated. To investigate this association beyond prime working ages, we study how all-cause mortality at ages 65–70 relates to different labour market positions at ages 50–64. The data stem from random samples of the Finnish population, which make it possible to follow 33,000 individuals in the period 1987–2011. Hazard models are estimated to quantify the associations. For both men and women, disability pensioners have a hazard of dying at age 65+ that is approximately twice that of persons who were employed, and this ratio still exceeds 1.5 when socioeconomic and demographic variables are included. Also male unemployment, but not female, is associated with an elevated mortality risk, but this interrelation depends greatly on socioeconomic position

Forced migration and the childbearing of women and men: a disruption of the tempo and quantum of fertility?

It is well known that migrant fertility is associated with age at migration, but little is known about this relationship for forced migrants. We study an example of displacement in which the entire population of Finnish Karelia was forced to move elsewhere in Finland in the 1940s. This displacement was unique because of its size and scale, because we have data on almost the whole population of both men and women who moved, and because of the similarity between origin and destination. These aspects enable us to investigate the disruptive impact of forced migration, net of other factors such as adaptation and selection. For all ages at migration from one to 20, female forced migrants had lower levels of completed fertility than similar women born in present-day Finland, which suggests a permanent impact of migration. However, women born in the same year as the initial forced migration showed no difference, which may indicate the presence of a counterbalancing fertility-increasing effect, as observed elsewhere for people born during a humanitarian crisis. There is less evidence of an impact for men, which suggests a gendered impact of forced migration-and its timing-on fertility. Results are similar after controlling for social and spatial mobility, indicating that there may be no major trade-off between reproduction and these forms of mobility

Geographical Extraction and the Finnish-Swedish Health Differential in Finland

Previous research concerned with the Finnish-Swedish mortality differential in Finland tends to have overlooked the fact that many Finnish speakers who live in the same coastal area as the Swedish speakers originate from parts of the country with high death rates. Using an extract from Statistics Finlands longitudinal employment statistics ? le, we ? nd that geographical extraction is an important factor underlying variation in both mortality and disability retirement in working-aged people. Finnish speakers born in eastern and northern Finland have substantially poorer health than those originating from western Finland. It is consequently not suf? cient to restrict analyses only by present region of residence. Still, there remains a between-group health differential also in people born in the coastal area, which suggests that health behaviors and risk factors could be relevant

Differences in Sickness Allowance Receipt between Swedish Speakers and Finnish Speakers in Finland: A Register-based Study

Previous research has documented lower disability retirement and mortality rates of Swedish speakers as compared with Finnish speakers in Finland. This paper is the first to compare the two language groups with regard to the receipt of sickness allowance, which is an objective health measure that reflects a less severe poor health condition. Register-based data covering the years 1988-2011 are used. We estimate logistic regression models with generalized estimating equations to account for repeated observations at the individual level. We find that Swedish-speaking men have approximately 30 percent lower odds of receiving sickness allowance than Finnish-speaking men, whereas the difference in women is about 15 percent. In correspondence with previous research on all-cause mortality at working ages, we find no language-group difference in sickness allowance receipt in the socially most successful subgroup of the population

Mortality From Myocardial Infarction After the Death of a Sibling: A Nationwide Follow‐up Study From Sweden

Background: Death of a sibling represents a stressful life event and could be a potential trigger of myocardial infarction (MI). We studied the association between loss of an adult sibling and mortality from MI up to 18 years after bereavement. Methods and Results: We conducted a follow‐up study for Swedes aged 40 to 69 years between 1981 and 2002, based on register data covering the total population (N=1 617 010). Sibling deaths could be observed from 1981 and on. An increased mortality rate from MI was found among women (1.25 CI 1.02 to 1.54) and men (1.15 CI 1.03 to 1.28) who had experienced death of an adult sibling. An elevated rate some years after bereavement was found among both women (during the fourth to sixth half‐years after the death) and men (during the second to sixth half‐years after the death), whereas limited support for a short‐term elevation in the rate was found (during the first few months since bereavement). External causes of sibling death were associated with increased MI mortality among women (1.54 CI 1.07 to 2.22), whereas nonexternal causes showed associations in men (1.23 CI 1.09 to 1.38). However, further analyses showed that if the sibling also died from MI, associations were primarily found among both women (1.62 CI 1.00 to 2.61) and men (1.98 CI 1.59 to 2.48). Conclusions: Our study provided the first large‐scale evidence for mortality from MI associated with the death of a sibling at an adult age. The fact that findings suggested associations primarily between concordant causes of death (both died of MI) could indicate genetic resemblance or shared risk factors during childhood. Future studies on bereavement should carefully deal with the possibility of residual confounding