ABSTRACT
The Nordic countries represent a particular variant of welfare state characterised by the principle of universalism and a strong welfare state. Finland is an example of a social-democratic welfare regime, and a particular variant of the Nordic model, with a relatively generous social security system for pensions and unemployment (Esping-Andersen 1990). The social-democratic welfare arrangement interacts in a relatively coherent way with the arrangement of work and family based on the cultural model of the dual breadwinner/state care-provider (Pfau-Effi nger 2004). The Finnish welfare state strongly supports this family model by providing social care services which minimise individuals’ dependency on the family and allow women to choose formal employment rather than informal care work. This family model is also promoted by high levels of public childcare and gender neutrality in the tax and benefi t systems (Repo 2001).
