The Mandatory Evaluation of Adequacy of Basic Social Security in Finland and How to Improve It
Introduction
An exceptional piece of legislation entered into force in Finland in 2010. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health was to commission an independent evaluation of the development of the adequacy of basic social security every fourth year. The initiative arose from research-based knowledge on how the level of benefits may, in the long term, decrease significantly compared with the average income development, even if the benefits’ purchasing power is guaranteed with index protection. A regular and periodic evaluation of basic social security was introduced as a way to obtain tested knowledge to support decision-making on the adequacy of basic social protection. Other important objectives of the evaluation were to provide support for budgetary processes and to follow up on the implementation of the government programme. Two evaluation reports have been published since 2010 (Perusturvan riittävyyden II arviointiryhmä, 2015; THL, 2011). In the first report, the key definitions were agreed, the guidelines were drawn up, and the development of a standard family’s disposable income was studied over a twenty-year period. In the second report, the time series of disposable income development was shorter, but several new approaches to the question of adequacy were introduced. A long time series of the development of the benefit level and statistics for the benefit recipients were presented in both reports. The second evaluation report was also translated into English for the benefit of international audiences (SEGEABSS, 2015). In this paper, we shall first clarify the background of the mandatory evaluation. We then describe the analysis and present the main results of the two published reports and, finally, we introduce some of the planned improvements to be included in the third evaluation report.
Authors
Pasi Moisio, Susanna Mukkila, Jussi Tervola
Additional Information
- Peer-Reviewed: yes.
- Open access: yes.
- Cite as: Moisio, P., Mukkila, S., & Tervola, J. (2017). The mandatory evaluation of adequacy of basic social security in Finland and how to improve it. Finnish Journal of Social Research, 10(2), 172–182. https://doi.org/10.51815/fjsr.110775
