Minimum wages and youth employment: Evidence from the Finnish retail trade sector

Following an agreement between the trade unions and the employer organisations, Finnish employers could pay less than the existing minimum wage for young workers between 1993 and 1995. We examine the effects of these minimum wage exceptions by comparing the changes in wages and employment of the groups whose minimum wages were reduced with simultaneous changes among slightly older workers for whom the minimum wage regulation was still binding. Our analysis is based on the payroll record data and minimum wage agreements from the retail trade sector over the period 1990-2005. We discover that average wages in the eligible group declined only modestly despite the fact that the excess supply of labour during high unemployment should make it relatively easy to attract workers even with low wages. The minimum wage exceptions had no positive effects on employment.Labour demand; employment; minimum wages; trade unions

Union membership and the erosion of the Ghent system: Lessons from Finland

Union density declined in Finland by more than 10 percentage points in less than ten years. This paper analyses the reasons behind the decline, using micro data from the 1990s. According to our results, the changes in the composition of the labour force and the changes in the labour market explain about a quarter of this decline. The main reason for the decline appears to be the erosion of the Ghent system, due to the emergence of an independent UI fund that provides unemployment insurance without requiring union membership. Interestingly, we find evidence that the decline in the union density can be attributed to declining inclination of the cohorts born after the early 1960s to become union members.Ghent system, union membership, trade unions

Labour Market Effects of the Polytechnic Education Reform: The Finnish Experience

This paper evaluates the labour market effects of the introduction of the polytechnic education system in Finland. The polytechnic reform gradually transformed former vocational colleges into polytechnics. Since the timing of the reform differed across schools, we can compare the performance of polytechnic graduates to the performance of vocational college graduates controlling for both the year and the school effects. The results are somewhat sensitive to how the selectivity issues are treated but generally suggest that both the earnings and the employment levels of post-reform graduates are higher in the field of business and administration. The effects are much smaller and usually insignificant in other fields.school reform, polytechnic education, vocational education, return to education

Väärinkäytösten varoitussignaalit ja niiden ennustava kyky sisäisessä tarkastuksessa

Tutkielman tarkoituksena on tutkia, onko olemassa ennustavaa kykyä omaavia väärinkäy- tösten varoitussignaaleita. Tutkimuksessa on mukana yhteensä 32 varoitussignaalia. Tut-kimus toteutetaan sisäisten tarkastajien avulla. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa selvitetään sisäisten tarkastajien mielipiteitä tärkeimmistä varoitussignaaleista. Tutkielma toteutetaan kyselytutkimuksena. Kysely lähetetään yhteensä 210 suomalaiselle sisäiselle tarkastajalle. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään 32 varoitussignaalin ennustavaa kykyä väärinkäytösten havaitsemisessa. Käytännössä tämä toteutetaan vertailemalla väärinkäy-tösten havainneiden sisäisten tarkastajien ja niitä ei havainneiden sisäisten tarkastajien vastauksia toisiinsa. Varoitussignaalien ennustava kyky saadaan selville käyttämällä tilas-tollisena menetelmänä khii- toiseen testiä. Sisäisten tarkastajien mielipiteitä tärkeimmistä varoitussignaaleista tutkitaan prosentuaalisella vertailulla. Tutkimuksessa mukana olleista 32 varoitussignaalista 12 havaittiin ennustavaa kykyä väärinkäytösten havaitsemisessa. Sisäisten tarkastajien mielipiteet tärkeimmistä varoitus-signaaleista eivät eronneet toisistaan, mutta varsinaisen testauksen puuttuessa ei voida sanoa saiko tutkimuksen toinen hypoteesi vahvistusta vai ei. ___________________________________________________fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Labour market effects of the polytechnic education reform: the Finnish experience

This paper evaluates the labour market effects of the introduction of the polytechnic education system in Finland. The polytechnic reform gradually transformed former vocational colleges into polytechnics. Since the timing of the reform differed across schools, we can compare the performance of polytechnic graduates to the performance of vocational college graduates controlling for both the year and the school effects. The results are somewhat sensitive to how the selectivity issues are treated but generally suggest that both the earnings and the employment levels of post-reform graduates are higher in the field of business and administration. The effects are much smaller and usually insignificant in other fields

Nanorchestes Topsent and Trouessart, 1890 and Eupodes Koch, 1836 (Acari: Prostigmata) from Vestfjella mountain range, Antarctica

Two terrestrial prostigmatid mites were found from the Audunfjellet nunatak, Vestfjella mountain range, in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica during the FINNARP expedition in Austral summer 1997/1998. The mites are close to, if not identical to, Nanorchestes bifurcatus Strandtmann, 1967 and Eupodes tottanfjella Strandtmann, 1967, also earlier reported from the area, but identification cannot be verified by using the published descriptions. Samples were also collected from an unnamed nunatak and the Basen nunatak, but these were miteless by chance

Femtosecond lasers for laser in situ keratomileusis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose: The aim of this study was to review and meta-analyze whether there are differences between reported femtosecond (FS) lasers for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) in terms of efficacy, predictability, and safety as primary outcomes and corneal flap thickness measurements and pre- and postoperative complications as secondary outcomes. Methods: A comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Cochrane CENTRAL Trials Library databases was conducted to identify the relevant prospective randomized controlled trials of FS lasers for LASIK. Thirty-one articles describing a total of 5,404 eyes were included. Results: Based on efficacy, IntraLase FS 10 and 30 kHz gave the best results. Based on predictability and safety, there were no differences between various FS lasers. FEMTO LDV and IntraLase FS 60 kHz produced the most accurate flap thicknesses. IntraLase and Wavelight SF200 had the fewest intraoperative complications. IntraLase, Visumax, and Wavelight FS200 had the most seldom postoperative complications. Conclusion: There were dissimilarities between different FS lasers based on efficacy and intraoperative and postoperative complications. All FS lasers were predictable and safe for making corneal flaps in LASIK

Minimum wages and youth employment: Evidence from the Finnish retail trade sector

Following an agreement between the trade unions and the employer organisations, Finnish employers could pay less than the existing minimum wage for young workers between 1993 and 1995. We examine the effects of these minimum wage exceptions by comparing the changes in wages and employment of the groups whose minimum wages were reduced with simultaneous changes among slightly older workers for whom the minimum wage regulation was still binding. Our analysis is based on the payroll record data and minimum wage agreements from the retail trade sector over the period 1990-2005. We discover that average wages in the eligible group declined only modestly despite the fact that the excess supply of labour during high unemployment should make it relatively easy to attract workers even with low wages. The minimum wage exceptions had no positive effects on employment

Minimum wages and youth employment: Evidence from the Finnish retail trade sector

Following an agreement between the trade unions and the employer organisations, Finnish employers could pay less than the existing minimum wage for young workers between 1993 and 1995. We examine the effects of these minimum wage exceptions by comparing the changes in wages and employment of the groups whose minimum wages were reduced with simultaneous changes among slightly older workers for whom the minimum wage regulation was still binding. Our analysis is based on the payroll record data and minimum wage agreements from the retail trade sector over the period 1990-2005. We discover that average wages in the eligible group declined only modestly despite the fact that the excess supply of labour during high unemployment should make it relatively easy to attract workers even with low wages. The minimum wage exceptions had no positive effects on employment