This article investigates the development of two forms of public spending on families, as well as their role for child poverty in 22 European countries during the period 2006-2015. It uses aggregated data on child poverty from Eurostat and data relating to public spending on families from the OECD SOCX database. It analyses the association between child poverty and public family spending on cash benefits and in-kind benefits, respectively. The findings show a stable growth in the GDP-related and real levels of spending on both cash benefits and benefits in kind, although spending on cash benefits have been more exposed to cost containment than spending on inkind benefits. Furthermore, spending on benefits in kind was found to be more efficient for curbing child poverty than spending on cash benefits, even after controlling for unemployment, family structure, the general standard of living, as well as welfare institutional configurations. However, the efficiency of public family spending declined over the studied period. Moreover, the relative significance of public family spending for child poverty, in comparison to structural factors (such as unemployment), varied according to which spending measure that was used.
Purpose As a member of the Nordic welfare regime, Finland has been acknowledged for its encompassing family policies with high degrees of parental employment and low incidence of poverty. During recent years, however, sluggish growth, high levels of unemployment and recurrent austerity measures have gradually undermined the economic security of families, notably among single-parent and multi-child families, and this has put families under increasing strain and increased the risks of poverty, inequality and other forms of ill-being. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors investigate risks and coping strategies and well-being of Finnish families with children. Family well-being is defined as an umbrella concept covering economic, social or psychological well-being and physical health. The data consist of 22 qualitative semi-structured interviews with parents from the region of Ostrobothnia in Finland and were collected in the winter of 2016–2017. Findings Based on the findings, the authors argue that the risks the families in Finland confront are linked to lower well-being, most notably for families encountering sickness, unemployment or divorce. The findings also show that parents have to employ various coping strategies themselves and that the society’s support is insufficient. Originality/value This paper, thus, contributes to the literature on the effects of austerity policies on families by focussing on the consequences on family well-being, but also on the risks that families face and the coping mechanisms they use for handling with these risks.
In this article we analyse how subjective wellbeing amongst Finnish children is associated with experiences of financial stress, that is, worries about money and one’s financial situation. We focus on both affective and cognitive components of subjective wellbeing in order to receive a broader understanding on children’s subjective wellbeing. We use Finnish data from the International survey of children’s lives conducted by the Children’s Worlds Project during the years 2013–2014. The results show that experienced financial stress is negatively and more strongly associated with cognitive subjective wellbeing than with affective subjective wellbeing, even when controlling for socioeconomic and other factors found to be influential for subjective wellbeing in previous research.
Huoli lapsiperheiden hyvinvoinnista on kasvanut Suomessa 2000-luvulla. Huolimatta Suomen kuulumisesta universalismin periaatteelle rakentuvaan pohjoismaiseen hyvinvointimalliin, epävarmemmat ja vaativammat työmarkkinat sekä valtion tuissa ja palveluissa tehdyt leikkaukset ovat viime vuosina lisänneet lapsiperheiden pahoinvointia, erityisesti pienituloisissa sekä yksinhuoltaja- ja monilapsiperheissä. Tämän artikkelin tarkoituksena on tutkia hallitusohjelmia analysoimalla, miten lapsiperheiden hyvinvointi on konstruoitu poliittisesti Suomessa vuosina 2007–2019. Analyysi nojaa teorioihin poliittisten kamppailuiden sekä erilaisten vaikutusvaltaisten ideoiden merkityksestä politiikassa. Hallitusohjelmia tarkastellaan diskursiivisesti, semioottista aktanttimallia soveltaen ja kiinnittäen huomiota siihen, miten ohjelmissa tuodaan esiin hyvinvoinnin osa-alueet, konkreettiset politiikkatoimet sekä niiden kohderyhmät ja tausta-ajatukset. Analyysin tulosten perusteella voidaan todeta, että tarkastellun ajanjakson alussa perheiden hyvinvoinnin poliittinen konstruointi kulminoitui pitkälti nimenomaan lapsiperheiden hyvinvointiin ja taloudelliseen asemaan, joiden katsottiin heikentyneen työmarkkinoiden epävarmuuden sekä perhepoliittisten tulonsiirtojen reaaliarvon heikkenemisestä johtuen. 2010–luvun edetessä lapsiperheiden hyvinvoinnin kuvaukset monipuolistuivat ja rakentuivat yhä enemmän modernimmalle perhekäsitykselle. Samalla tulonsiirtoihin nojaavasta perhepolitiikasta siirryttiin ”sosiaalisten investointien” politiikkaan, missä perheiden hyvinvoinnin edistäminen turvataan lähinnä korkealaatuisten palveluiden avulla sekä vanhempien osallistumisella työntekoon.
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