Chapter 8 Giving up farming and the welfare state restructuration in Finland

Abstract

In this chapter the restructuration of the Finnish welfare state is examined in the context of rural Finland and especially within the framework of the structural change in agriculture. After briefly outlining the context of globalizing food markets and the Common Agricultural Policy for the condition of Finnish farmers, the chapter focuses on the economic impacts of the ongoing structural transformation on ex-farmers' position in society and the cultural and political aspects of this transformation. After this, the transitions in the overall position of the farmers will be connected with the current restructuring of the Nordic welfare state in Finland. The conclusion highlights the most critical features in the structural change of the welfare state regime as they are recognized against this background. A special concern of this chapter is how the remodelling of the welfare state treats the principle of universalism, which is justly regarded as the focal characteristic of the Nordic welfare states. The changing position of farmers has been selected as a point of departure for two reasons: agriculture is still the most important rural livelihood in Finland and, consequently, transitions in agriculture have a strong impact on rural areas.

Citation

Hänninen, S. and Silvasti, T. (2010), "Chapter 8 Giving up farming and the welfare state restructuration in Finland", Milbourne, P. (Ed.) Welfare Reform in Rural Places: Comparative Perspectives (Research in Rural Sociology and Development, Vol. 15), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 151-171. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1057-1922(2010)0000015010