Whistle While You Work A Review of the Life Satisfaction Literature

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Agencies: How Governments Do Things Through Semi-Autonomous Organizations

Is there a right to live an unhealthy life? This core question is addressed through a series of controversial questions: If there is a right to live an unhealthy life, what kind of right is this? Can an autonomous person choose to live an unhealthy life? Is a choice to live an unhealthy life an autonomous choice? Do we have a duty or a responsibility to live healthy life? Does health neglect or own responsibility for poor health have consequences for access to health care and health care prioritization? How to justify public health interventions in order to make people live healthier lives? What is “health” and “unhealthy” in a right to lead an unhealthy life? By addressing these questions I will highlight that they have many answers, resulting in different responses to the question of whether there is a right to lead an unhealthy life. Which of the answers one prefers, strongly depends on perspectives and theoretical viewpoints, which are discussed in the paper. Acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses in the answers and their justifications is important for framing and implementing policies in public health.

Public health: ethical issues.

Marienthal: The Sociography of an Unemployed Community

We analyse the relationship between unemployment and self-assessed health using the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) for Finland over the period 1996-2001. Our results reveal that the event of becoming unemployed does not matter as such for self-assessed health. The health status of those that end up being unemployed is lower than that of the continually employed. Hence, persons who have poor health are being selected for the pool of the unemployed. This explains why, in a cross-section, unemployment is associated with poor self-assessed health. However, we are somewhat more likely to obtain the negative effects of unemployment on health when long-term unemployment is used as the measure of unemployment experience.

Unemployment and self-assessed health: Evidence from panel data

In this article we focus on the level of subjective well-being and its determinants among the unemployed as compared to those currently in paid labour. We subject three strongly contradictory theor...

Unemployment and Subjective Well-being An Empirical Test of Deprivation Theory, Incentive Paradigm and Financial Strain Approach

Contents:1. Introduction2. Welfare State, Poverty and Social Exclusion3. Health and Happiness4. Social Capital5. Who Should Decide? A Comparative Analysis of Multi-level Governance in Europe6. Political Activism7. Trust in Political Institutions8. Disagreement About the Division of Work Among Couples in Europe: The Role of Gender Ideology and Labour Involvement9. Non-standard Employment and Job Quality10. Attitudes Towards Immigrants11. Economic Morality12. The Meaning and Implications of Religiosity 13. Conclusion

Nordic Social Attitudes in a European Perspective

Focusing on 2002–2011, we analyse levels of trust in Greece and compare them with 17 other European countries. During this period, Greece endured a serious economic crisis. Signs of increasing mistrust in all societal institutions became evident and the nation witnessed extreme phenomena, such as violent demonstrations, the surfacing of radical political ideas, parties with nationalistic and racist characteristics, and noncompliance with rules, regulations, and taxes. However, little is known about generalised social trust, i.e. interpersonal trust between individuals, during the crisis. We analyse data from the European Social Survey Rounds 1, 2, 4, and 5 to test whether the crisis affected the levels of various forms of trust among Greeks. In addition to social trust, we distinguish between trust in political institutions (e.g. politicians and the national parliament) and impartial institutions (e.g. the police and legal system). The results reveal that the level of trust people show towards political and impartial institutions decreased substantially in Greece. Surprisingly, however, interpersonal social trust did not collapse; rather, it remained stable or even slightly increased concurrently with the notable decrease in political trust. This suggests that during an economic crisis, people do not deterministically lose their trust in other individuals; instead, in the Greek case they appear to lean on each other when both political and impartial institutions fail. Moreover, it is possible that shared experiences of nearly overwhelming adversities in Greece during the crisis increase a sense of togetherness among individuals, which in turn contributed to the robustness of social trust.

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Social and Institutional Trust in Times of Crisis: Greece, 2002–2011

Contents: 1. Introduction Heikki Ervasti, Jorgen Goul Andersen and Kristen Ringdal 2. Welfare Regimes and Personal Risks Synove N. Andersen and Kristen Ringdal 3. The Impact of Perceived and Actual Unemployment Benefit Generosity and Unemployment Rates on the Employment Security of Workers Heejung Chung and Wim van Oorschot 4. Economic Globalization, Personal Risks and the Demand for a Comprehensive Welfare State Henning Finseraas and Kristen Ringdal 5. Children in the Family and Welfare State Attitudes - Altruism or Self-Interest? Mare Ainsaar 6. Who Should Care for the Children? Support for Government Intervention in Childcare Bart Meuleman and Heejung Chung 7. Legitimacy of the System and Support for the Welfare State Torben Fridberg 8. Immigration, Trust and Support for the Welfare State Heikki Ervasti and Mikael Hjerm 9. Social Cohesion and the Welfare State - How Heterogeneity Influences Welfare State Attitudes Mikael Hjerm and Annette Schnabel 10. Welfare Benefits and Generalized Trust in Finland and Europe Antti Kouvo, Tomi Kankainen and Mikko Niemela 11. Is There a Religious Factor Involved in Support for the Welfare State? Heikki Ervasti 12. Who Hates the Welfare State? Heikki Ervasti Index

The Future of the Welfare State: Social Policy Attitudes and Social Capital in Europe

1. The Welfare Economics of the Welfare State: Agnar Sandmo. 2. Welfare State Disincentives with Endogenous Habits and Norms: Assar Lindbeck. 3. A Theory of the Welfare State: Hans-Werner Sinn. 4. Factor Mobility, Risk and Redistribution in the Welfare State: David E Wildasin. 5. Public Provision of Private Goods as a Redistributive Device in an Optimum Income Tax Model: Soren Blomquist and Vidar Christiansen. 6. Why are Taxes so High in Egalitarian Societies: Mats Persson. 7. Family Policy with Non-cooperative Families: Kai A. Konrad and Kjell Erik Lommerud. 8. Socio-Economic Status and Child Health: Does Public Health Insurance Narrow the Gap: Janet Currie. 9. Is it Legitimate to Encourage Work Sharing?: Nina Maderner and Jean-Charles Rochet. 10. Labor Supply Responses and Welfare Effects of Tax Reforms: Rolf Aaberge, John K Dagsvik and Steinar Strom.

Heikki Ervasti

Papers

Unemployment and Subjective Well-being An Empirical Test of Deprivation Theory, Incentive Paradigm and Financial Strain Approach

Nordic Social Attitudes in a European Perspective

Social and Institutional Trust in Times of Crisis: Greece, 2002–2011

The Future of the Welfare State: Social Policy Attitudes and Social Capital in Europe

The Future of the Welfare State