Ethno-linguistic Groups during an Economic Recession: Low-income Earners in the 1990s’ Finland

Little is known about low-income earners in the Swedish-speaking community in Finland, and particularly how this ethno-linguistic group positioned itself as compared with the Finnish speakers during the severe economic recession in the 1990s. Relating to the ethno-linguistic English-speaking minorit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Finnish yearbook of population research 2014-12, Vol.49, p.87-103
Main Authors: Härtull, Camilla, Saarela, Jan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alliances
Anglophones
Economic conditions
economic recessions
Education reform
ethno-linguistic minorities
Finland
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Income distribution
Labor market
Language policy
Linguistics
Low income groups
low-income earners
Macroeconomics
Minority & ethnic groups
Population
Quebec
Recessions
Studies
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Summary:Little is known about low-income earners in the Swedish-speaking community in Finland, and particularly how this ethno-linguistic group positioned itself as compared with the Finnish speakers during the severe economic recession in the 1990s. Relating to the ethno-linguistic English-speaking minority in Quebec, we set out to study whether also Swedish speakers experienced a worsening of their economic position. Using register data from 1987–1999, we find that they did not, but rather improved their relative situation as compared with the Finnish speakers, although they on average had a higher propensity for being low-income earners also after the recession. In contrast to the situation in Quebec, no unfavourable language acts or educational reforms were imposed on the Swedish speakers during the study period. We see the results as reflecting a well-functioning welfare state, in which language acts and constitutional rights have worked to protect both ethno-linguistic groups.
ISSN:1796-6183
1796-6191
DOI:10.23979/fypr.48425