GINI Country Report: Growing Inequalities and their Impacts in Finland

The development of the Finnish income inequality from the midU1960s to 2010 can be distinguished into five periods. First, the era of welfare state expansion in the 1960s and the 1970s meant decreasing trend in income inequality for all income concepts (equivalised household factor income, gross income and disposable income). Second, from the mid 1970s to the economic recession of the early 1990s, factor income inequality slightly increased but due to income transfer system, gross and disposable income inequality remained constant. Third, the economic recession of the early 1990s accelerated the increase in factor income inequality but again, gross and disposable income inequality remained at the same level. Fourth, after the economic recession inequality measured by factor income has been remained constant. However, the period between 1995 and 2000 meant dramatic increase both to gross and disposable income inequality. Finally, after the turn of the millennium the development of income inequality for all income concepts has been somewhat stable.