Social class and the risk of unemployment : Trends, gender differences and the contribution of education

Previous research has shown that an advantaged social class position protects individuals from unemployment, but less is known about how this relationship has developed after the turn of the millennium, how it varies by gender and to what extent education contributes to the association between these factors. We assess these questions using register-based data on the Finnish labour force over a 28-year period between 1988 and 2015. The overall risk of unemployment was 2.7–3.7-fold among manual classes compared to upper non-manual classes, and 1.4–1.7-fold among lower compared to upper non-manual classes. Controlling for education attenuated the differences between social classes by about two-thirds. Social class disparities were somewhat more distinct among men than among women, but gender differences narrowed over time. Overall, temporal changes were small, especially among men, except for a curvilinear pattern observed for the relative unemployment risk of the lower non-manual class. To conclude, despite a comparatively egalitarian context and drastic changes in economic conditions and labour market structures over time, social stratification in unemployment has been substantial and considerably persistent. This is in line with the conceptualization of social class underpinning differing employment relations and, therefore, inherently creating variation in labour market risks.Peer reviewe

Embryo quality is the main factor affecting cumulative live birth rate after elective single embryo transfer in fresh stimulation cycles

Objective: The study was aimed to evaluate which factors affect the cumulative live birth rate after elective single embryo transfer in women younger than 36 years. Additionally, number of children in women with more than one delivery per ovum pick-up after fresh elective single embryo transfer and subsequent frozen embryo transfers was assessed. Study design: Retrospective cohort study analysing data of a university hospital's infertility clinic in 2001-2010. A total of 739 IVF/ICSI cycles with elective single embryo transfer were included. Analyses were made per ovum pick-up including fresh and subsequent frozen embryo transfers. Factors affecting cumulative live birth rates were examined in uni- and multivariate analyses. A secondary endpoint was the number of children born after all treatments. Results: In the fresh cycles, the live birth rate was 29.2% and the cumulative live birth rate was 51.3%, with a twin rate of 3.4%. In the multivariate analysis, having two (odds ratio (OR) 1.73; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12-2.67) or >= 3 top embryos (OR 2.66; 95% CI 1.79-3.95) was associated with higher odds for live birth after fresh and frozen embryo cycles. Age, body mass index, duration of infertility, diagnosis or total gonadotropin dose were not associated with the cumulative live birth rate. In cycles with one top embryo, the cumulative live birth rate was 40.2%, whereas it was 64.1% in those with at least three top embryos. Of women who had a live birth in the fresh cycle, 20.4% had more than one child after all frozen embryo transfers. Among women with three or more top embryos after ovum pick-up, 16.1% gave birth to more than one child. Conclusion: The cumulative live birth rate in this age group varies from 40% to 64% and is dependent on the quality of embryos. Women with three or more top embryos have good chance of having more than one child per ovum pick-up without elevated risk of multiple pregnancies. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Changes in sibling similarity in education among Finnish cohorts born in 1950–89 : the contribution of paternal and maternal education

Peer reviewe

Social class and the risk of unemployment: Trends, gender differences and the contribution of education

Previous research has shown that an advantaged social class position protects individuals from unemployment, but less is known about how this relationship has developed after the turn of the millennium, how it varies by gender and to what extent education contributes to the association between these factors. We assess these questions using register-based data on the Finnish labour force over a 28-year period between 1988 and 2015. The overall risk of unemployment was 2.7–3.7-fold among manual classes compared to upper non-manual classes, and 1.4–1.7-fold among lower compared to upper non-manual classes. Controlling for education attenuated the differences between social classes by about two-thirds. Social class disparities were somewhat more distinct among men than among women, but gender differences narrowed over time. Overall, temporal changes were small, especially among men, except for a curvilinear pattern observed for the relative unemployment risk of the lower non-manual class. To conclude, despite a comparatively egalitarian context and drastic changes in economic conditions and labour market structures over time, social stratification in unemployment has been substantial and considerably persistent. This is in line with the conceptualization of social class underpinning differing employment relations and, therefore, inherently creating variation in labour market risks.</p

Lannoitetypen huuhtoutumisen kinetiikasta ja määristä ruokohelvellä ja nurmella

Maatalous aiheuttaa noin 50 % Suomen vesistöjen typpikuormituksesta. Huuhtoumaan vaikuttaa mm. kasvilaji. Monivuotisten energiakasvien typpihuuhtoumia ei tunneta hyvin. Tässä työssä verrattiin Ruokohelven (Phalaris arundinaceae) ja nurmen typen huuhtoumia kivennäismaalla. Nurmiviljelyn tiedetään vähentävän typpihuuhtoumaa. Ruokohelpi on bioenergiakasvina osoittautunut tehokkaaksi hiilinieluksi eloperäisillä mailla, ja sen dityppioksidipäästöt eloperäisiltä mailta ovat olleet alhaiset. Tutkimuksessa sovellettiin isotooppitekniikoita antamalla typpilannoitus typpi-15 rikastetulla (10 AT-%) ammoniumnitraattina (15NH415NO3). Työssä määritettiin mikä on lannoitetypen huuhtouman osuus kokonaistyppihuuhtoumasta..Ruokohelpi- ja nurmikoealat lannoitettiin noudattaen kasvikohtaisia käytäntöjä (ruokohelpi 80 kg N ha-1, nurmi 2 * kertaan 100 kg N ha-1). Vesinäytteet kerättiin typpianalyyseihin maaperään 0,8 m syvyyteen esiasennetuista keraamisista imuputkista. Näytteistä määritettiin mineraalitypen (NH4 ja NO3) pitoisuudet sekä niiden typpi-isotooppikoostumukset. Näytteenottomenetelmä ei sallinut huuhtouman määrällistä arviointia, vaan enemmänkin laadullisen (15N/14N). Tutkimus toteutettiin Maaningalla kesäkuusta 2011 kesäkuuhun 2012 koealoilla, jotka oli perustettu keväällä 2009.Kummallakin kasvilla nitraattityppipitoisuudet 0,8 m syvyydellä olivat keskimäärin 7 mg NO3-N l-1 heinäkuun loppuun asti, jonka jälkeen NO3-N-pitoisuudet lähtivät laskuun, ruokohelvellä nopeammin. Lokakuun 2011 lopussa ruokohelpiviljelmän NO3-N pitoisuus jäi alle 1 mg l-1 kun se nurmella oli 3,5 mg l-1.Ensimmäisen lannoituksen jälkeen lannoitetypen prosentuaalinen osuus 0,8 m syvyyden nitraattitypestä oli kummallakin kasvilla alle 1 %. Ruokohelvellä lannoiteperäinen huuhtouma ei juuri muuttunut kasvukauden edetessä. Nurmelle annettu toinen lannoitus nosti lannoiteperäisen typen huuhtouman 34,5±19,2 %:iin. Suuri huuhtouma liittyi todennäköisesti toisen lannoituksen jälkeen tulleeseen rankkasateeseen, mikä huuhtoi pintamaahan kertynyttä lannoitetyppeä syvemmälle maaprofiiliin. Kohonnutta lannoitetypen huuhtoumaa ei kuitenkaan seurannut kohonnut NO3-N kokonaispitoisuus.Nurmelta huuhtoutuvan nitraattitypen kokonaispitoisuus ei poikennut merkittävästi ruokohelven vastaavasta, vaikka nurmea lannoitettiin enemmän. Sen sijaan toista lannoitusta seurannut lannoitetypen huuhtouma nurmelta oli huomattavan korkea

Explaining social-class inequality in voter turnout : the contribution of income and health

Occupation-based social class is an important, yet under-explored, factor in electoral participation. In this article, social class differences in voter turnout over time are measured, and how two other resources – namely income and health – mediate or modify this relationship is analysed. The analysis is based on an individual-level register-based 11 percent sample of the entire electorate in the 1999 Finnish parliamentary elections, and secondarily on smaller register-based samples in the 2012 presidential and municipal elections. Results show that income mediates part of the effects of social class on voting, while social class and utilised health indicators exert mainly independent effects on turnout. Social class differences remain largely stable in all income and hospital care groups, except that no differences between classes are observed among those most severely affected by health problems. Results are also mostly similar between those of working age and the older population, and between men and women, and remain stable over time and in different types of elections. The findings imply that social class should be taken account in theoretical and empirical models of turnout.Peer reviewe

Height, social position and coronary heart disease incidence: the contribution of genetic and environmental factors

Background: The associations between height, socioeconomic position (SEP) and coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence are well established, but the contribution of genetic factors to these associations is still poorly understood. We used a polygenic score (PGS) for height to shed light on these associations. Methods: Finnish population-based health surveys in 1992-2011 (response rates 65-93%) were linked to population registers providing information on SEP and CHD incidence up to 2019. The participants (N=29 996; 54% women) were aged 25-75 at baseline, and there were 1767 CHD incident cases (32% in women) during 472 973 person years of follow-up. PGS-height was calculated based on 33 938 single-nucleotide polymorphisms, and residual height was defined as the residual of height after adjusting for PGS-height in a linear regression model. HRs of CHD incidence were calculated using Cox regression. Results: PGS-height and residual height showed clear gradients for education, social class and income, with a larger association for residual height. Residual height also showed larger associations with CHD incidence (HRs per 1 SD 0.94 in men and 0.87 in women) than PGS-height (HRs per 1 SD 0.99 and 0.97, respectively). Only a small proportion of the associations between SEP and CHD incidence was statistically explained by the height indicators (6% or less). Conclusions: Residual height associations with SEP and CHD incidence were larger than for PGS-height. This supports the role of material and social living conditions in childhood as contributing factors to the association of height with both SEP and CHD risk