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Poverty and Old Age in Scandinavia: A Problem of Gendered Injustice? Evidence from the 2010 GERDA Survey in Finland and Sweden

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Abstract

This article investigates the prevalence of two forms of income poverty among older adults in Finland and Sweden from a gendered perspective. It examines differences in both objective and subjective (i.e. experienced) income poverty between older women and men, and asks to what extent the gender variable can explain these differences after controlling for the impact of other variables, such as education. The analysis is based on data from the Gerda 2010 survey, and covers 65-, 70-, 75- and 80-year-olds living in Österbotten, Finland and Västerbotten, Sweden. The results show a stronger prevalence of both objective and subjective income poverty among older women compared to that of men, and this systematic difference remains significant after controlling for other variables, although a mediating effect upon this association can be detected from variables such as health or education. As a whole, the results suggest that these two Nordic countries, despite their egalitarian welfare states and redistributive pension systems, may face a problem of gendered injustice in old age.

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Notes

  1. The acronym GERDA refers to the Gerontological Regional Database (GERDA 2012).

  2. Finnish is the majority language in Finland, but there is also a Swedish-speaking minority, which resides predominantly in the region of Österbotten and the Åland archipelago.

  3. The original phrasing of the items and response categories were: ‘What is your monthly income before taxes?’ (response categories: 1 = 0–500 €/0–5000 SEK, 2 = 501–1000 €/5001–10000 SEK, 3 = 1001–1500 €/10,001–15,000 SEK, 4 = more than 1500 €/15000 SEK).

  4. The original phrasing of the item and response categories were: ‘In your economic situation, is it possible to make ends meet?’ (response categories: 1 = without difficulty, 2 = with some difficulty, 3 = difficult, 4 = very difficult).

  5. The original phrasing of the items was: ‘How many years of school do you have?’ (continuous variable) and ‘In general, how would you say your health is?’ (1 = excellent, 2 = very good, 3 = good, 4 = fair, 5 = poor).

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported financially by the European Union through its Interreg program Botnia Atlantica, the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia (Finland), the town of Umeå (Sweden), as well as the Gerda project partners Åbo Akademi University (Finland), Novia University of Applied Sciences (Finland) and Umeå University (Sweden). This support is warmly acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies, Åbo Akademi University, Strandgatan 2, PB 311, 65101, Vaasa, Finland

    Mikael Nygård & Camilla Härtull

  2. Novia University of Applied Sciences, Seriegatan 2, 65320, Vaasa, Finland

    Annika Wentjärvi & Susanne Jungerstam

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  1. Mikael Nygård
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Nygård, M., Härtull, C., Wentjärvi, A. et al. Poverty and Old Age in Scandinavia: A Problem of Gendered Injustice? Evidence from the 2010 GERDA Survey in Finland and Sweden. Soc Indic Res 132, 681–698 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1313-6

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