ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the development of inequalities in health, especially on morbidity differences among social classes. The general goals of Finnish health policy are to promote the good health of the population and to diminish inequalities in health status as far as possible. In studying the connection between social class and health, one encounters a problem of reciprocal causality. Poor health may prevent the entry to good labor-market positions, but it also may cause mobility out of the labor force. From a comparative viewpoint the most striking feature was the exceptionally poor health status of Finnish farmers. The rapid structural change may have caused stress and damage to the health of individuals even when it meant upward social mobility. The “healthy habit” movement of the 1980s has probably increased, especially, white-collar employees’ awareness of illnesses and their readiness to report them.
