The legacy of economic recession in terms of over-indebtedness : A framework and review of the evidence

Funding Information: This work has been funded by the Council of Strategic Research, Academy of Finland, decision 312710 Kantola, Anu M. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.With the expansion of credit, low interest rates and overly optimistic expectations about future economic and housing price developments, mortgage lending soared in most OECD countries in the run-up to the 2008 global economic crisis. The crisis revealed the hidden epidemic of over-indebtedness, which continues to overshadow the lives of millions in rich countries. In the wake of the global economic crisis, the household debt crisis led to worsening economic conditions and put pressure on government finances, which caused further income shocks in the form of austerity measures such as social welfare cuts and higher taxes. This article is based on a scoping review aimed at summarising and reflecting on the available literature. It analyses the effects of over-indebtedness on individuals and societies across six OECD countries: Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK and the US.Peer reviewe

We need to deal with household debt now before the next financial crisis hits

What will happen to indebted households when the next recession hits Europe? Strongly pro-cyclical financial policy in the US is likely to trigger over-heating and recession in the US perhaps already at the end of next year. Many economists predict a recession to strike Europe a year later. One thing is sure. Sooner or later a recession will arrive and with already near zero level interest rates the means to fight it are more limited than they were after the economic collapse of 2008

Church Poverty Relief during a Time of Crisis? : Experiences of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

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Why fertility has been declining in Finland after the Global Recession? : A theoretical approach

A steady improvement in the economy and employment since 2010 did not stop the drop in total fertility rate in Finland. Declining fertility now includes women in almost all age and educational groups in the country. This decline has continued long enough to also indicate a dramatic decrease in completed fertility, which is a departure from decades of sustained levels of completed fertility. Drawing from a range of publicly available descriptive data, this article assesses the extent to which old and new theories of fertility are relevant in explaining this development. In conclusion, the fertility development in Finland is surprising, and challenges traditional theories on fertility, which analyse fertility from economic and gender perspectives. Social interaction theory holds more promise. However, it is very difficult to find data sources which could elucidate the role of social interaction in the fertility decline. Designing pro-natalistic policies is challenging before there is more detailed evidence and understanding concerning the key drivers of the fertility decline in Finland.Peer reviewe

Adapting the Nordic welfare state model to the challenges of automation

The inclusive Nordic welfare model has facilitated economic growth, stable business environments and excellent living conditions as demonstrated by a number of scholars. The Nordic ‘happy democracies’ have been characterised by consensual decision-making procedures, corporatism, relatively high voter turnout, wide representation of various social groups, active membership in social organisations and remarkable levels of both institutional and social trust. The eradication of poverty is not merely a matter of expenditures and compensation. A convincing body of literature demonstrates that the level of trust in a society has consequences for economic performance as well as for individual well-being. Robert Putnam has identified two dimensions of social capital: bridging or inclusive, and bonding or exclusive social capital. Labour union membership has declined in Nordic countries with new forms of contracted work and other types of non-standard employment contracts.Peer reviewe

A Truly Missed Opportunity : The Political Context and Impact of the Basic Income Experiment in Finland

A contribution to the special issue on "The Policy Impact of Basic Income Experiments in Europe"Finland conducted the first nationwide field experiment with partial basic income between 2017 and 2018. The experiment and its results were widely reported in international media and featured in political debates across the globe. Domestically, the experiment had an impact on social policy debates but no impact on social policy. For example, it did not feature in the Social Security 2030 project or in the work of the Social Security Reform Committee (2020-2027). The research setting for the experiment was compromised from the beginning due to political reasons; but the scientific power was further undermined by a new sanctioning model, which was implemented in 2018 at the beginning of the second year of the basic income experiment. The new Government taking office in 2019 promised to continue with a negative income tax experiment; however, no such experiment was conducted. The article will unpack these developments in Finland and discuss possible explanations for denouncing basic income as a policy idea.Peer reviewe

Fertility Response to Economic Recessions in Finland 1991–2015

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Church poverty relief during a time of crisis? Experiences of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

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Global Implementation of Tobacco Demand Reduction Measures Specified in Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Introduction The world’s first global health treaty, WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) aims to reduce tobacco product demand by focusing on tobacco taxes, smoking bans, health warning labels, and tobacco advertising bans. Previous studies almost unanimously suggest that FCTC has prompted countries to implement more effective tobacco demand reduction policies. Aims and Methods By taking into account the pre-FCTC status, country income level, and state capacity we studied if ratifying FCTC was associated with tobacco demand reduction measures in 2018/2019. We used logistic regression to assess the association of FCTC ratification with adoption demand reduction measures, accounting for years since ratification, baseline status, and other covariates. Results Except for taxes, state of tobacco policy implementation before FCTC ratification did not predict adoption of FCTC policies. Time since FCTC ratification was associated with implementing smoking bans and pictorial HWLs. In contrast, while the tax rate prior to FCTC ratification was positively associated with increased taxes after FCTC ratification, time since FCTC ratification was marginally negatively associated with increases in tobacco taxes. Conclusions While the FCTC was followed by implementation of compliant demand reduction policies, there are still many parties that have not implemented the FCTC, particularly increasing taxes and ending tobacco advertising and promotions. Implications We assessed changes in tobacco demand reductions measures over 22 years in 193 countries. By using internal tobacco industry documents, we were able establish a baseline before the FCTC negotiations. Unlike previous studies, we included four tobacco demand reductions measures: tobacco taxes, smoking bans, health warning labels, and tobacco advertising ban. The limitation of the study is that we do not have data to describe if demand reduction measures are actually enforced or what their effect on tobacco consumption is.Peer reviewe

Limited implementation of the framework convention on tobacco control’s tobacco tax provision : global comparison

Objective To quantify changes in tobacco tax rates and cigarette affordability after countries ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) using with the WHO MPOWER standards.Methods We used logistic regression to assess the association of FCTC ratification with adoption of at least 50% and 75% (high) of retail price tobacco tax rates for the most sold brands in countries, accounting for years since ratification and other covariates. We also compared cigarette affordability in 2014 with 1999.Results By 2014, 44% of high-income countries had taxes above 75% of retail value compared with 18% in 1998/1999. In 15 years, 69 countries increased the tobacco tax rate, 33 decreased it and one had the same tax rate. FCTC ratification was not associated with implementing high tobacco taxes. More fragile countries in terms of security, political, economic and social development were less likely to have at least 50% and 75% tobacco tax rates in 2014 compared with 1999. The higher the cigarette prices in 1999 the less likely the countries were to have at least 75% tobacco tax rates in 2014. However, cigarettes were less affordable in 2014 than in 1999 in countries that had ratified FCTC earlier.Conclusions Despite widespread FCTC ratification, implementing higher tobacco taxes remains incomplete. Guidelines for FCTC Article 6 implementation should assign definite targets for tobacco taxes and for implementation of a tax escalator that gradually increases taxes to match rising income levels. Fragile countries are less likely to have high tobacco taxes and less affordable cigarettes. The tobacco control community should intensify efforts to help fragile countries improve performance in FCTC implementation both through strengthening their administrative and technical capacity and through supporting basic functions of government.Peer reviewe