From crisis to recovery — what happened to the citizens?

Having recovered from the recession, Finland as a national economy has performed even surprisingly well. After all, Finland rose in the latter half of the 1990s to join the ranks of the world’s most competitive countries. But how has Finland’s economic success been reflected in the financial circumstances of Finnish people? The national economy succeeded — but did the people succeed?

The central themes of the book are employment, unemployment, wages, and income distribution. Has unemployment declined slowly? Who finds employment — and who does not? In what sense is Finland’s unemployment structural? Was the 1990s a decade of wage restraint? Why has the share of national income received by wage earners shrunk? Why have income disparities grown? It is to questions such as these, among others, that the researchers of the Labour Institute for Economic Research provide their answers in the book.

The book’s central message is “The national economy succeeded — but not the whole nation.”

The book is intended as an account that is as accessible as possible, through which anyone interested in the Finnish economy and the lives of Finnish people can gain fresh information and food for thought. The aim of the book is not only to provide information but also to stimulate debate. (AI translation)

• ISBN: 951-37-3835-3
• Press Release in Finnish