The aims of the study where:

This study looked at the prevalence and area differences in social exclusion in Finland and aimed to find out whether characteristics of these regions had an effect on workingage individuals’ risks of social exclusion in the end of the 1990’s. The study focused on 3054 year old women and men who resided in Finnish urban regions in year 1993. 

Data were register data, representative of the Finnish population (11% sample) and consisting of individual level information linked to information on urban regions. Measures of social exclusion included longterm unemployment, living without a family, separating from the partner, low income / poverty, changing the housing tenure from owning to renting, dying, and measures combining some of the aforementioned variables. Statistical multilevel methods were used as the main tools of analysis.

According to the results, those suffering from longterm unemployment during the recession were in a higher risk of social exclusion later on compared to others, and this difference was not explained by their more disadvantaged socioeconomic background. The differences between urban regions were clear and they mainly showed a wellknown pattern of area differences in Finland. Different socioeconomic population structures explained a part of the area differences in some outcomes while in other outcomes the area differences became more pronounced after adjusting for the population structure. The area differences thus
seemed to be connected with regional characteristics other than population structures.

Measures of social environment included unemployment level, level of urbanization, voting turnout and family cohesion (measuring norms connected to traditional family structure). After adjusting the individual characteristics, low regional level of unemployment, high level of urbanization and low levels of voting turnout and family cohesion were associated with higher risk of social exclusion in most measures. The effects of these regional social characteristics were larger on those longterm unemployed during the recession than on others. The results contribute to the knowledge on the area effects of urban regions and especially on the effects of social environments on individual wellbeing.

Helsinki University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology
Finland
http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/sosio/english/index.htm
Ms. Jenni Blomgren (researcher)

24/09/2005

Jenni Blomgren

research

Urban Policy

Social inclusion & integration, Economy knowledge & employment