Abstract
In its basic outline, the Finnish welfare state meets the broad characteristics of a Nordic type of welfare state: an emphasis on public services and reliance on relatively autonomous local administration for their provision, as well as, in social security, a combination of universal flat rate benefits and earnings-related social insurance. Yet the Finnish case has certain salient features of its own; the system is subject to tight economic constraints, and welfare expenditure has been constrained to the dividend left over by economic growth. Even in a cyclical context, the balanced budget constraint has made welfare expenditure clearly pro-cyclical.
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© 2005 Jukka Pekkarinen
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Pekkarinen, J. (2005). Political Economy of the Finnish Welfare State. In: Vivekanandan, B., Kurian, N. (eds) Welfare States and the Future. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230554917_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230554917_11
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-52229-3
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-55491-7
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