The COVID-19 outbreak triggered the most severe recession in decades

Keyword(s):  
1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Klavus ◽  
Unto Häkkinen

Objectives: In the early 1990s the Finnish economy suffered a severe recession at the same time as health care reforms were taking place. This study examines the effects of these changes on the distribution of contributions to health care financing in relation to household income. Explanations for changes in various indicators of health care expenditure and use during that time are offered. Method: The analysis is based partly on actual income data and partly on simulated data from the base year (1990). It employs methods that allow the estimation of confidence intervals for inequality indices (the Gini coefficient and Kakwani's progressivity index). Results: In spite of the substantial decrease in real incomes during the recession, the distribution of income remained almost unaltered. The share of total health care funding derived from poorer households increased somewhat, due purely to structural changes. The financial plight of the public sector led to the share of total funding from progressive income taxes to decrease, while regressive indirect taxes and direct payments by households contributed more. Conclusions: It seems that, aside from an increased financing burden on poorer households, Finland's health care system has withstood the tremendous changes of the early 1990s fairly well. This is largely attributable to the features of the tax-financed health care system, which apportions the effects of financial and functional disturbances equitably.


1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (15) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
EARL ANDERSON
Keyword(s):  

2014 ◽  
Vol 104 (5) ◽  
pp. 61-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B. Taylor

This paper reports on recent research showing that the severe recession of 2007-2009 and the weak recovery have been due to poor economic policies and the failure to implement good policies during the past decade. Monetary policy, fiscal policy, and regulatory policy became more discretionary, more interventionist, and less predictable in comparison with the previous two decades of better economic performance. At best these policies led to growth spurts, but were followed by retrenchments, averaging to poor performance. The paper also considers alternative views-that the equilibrium interest rate declined during the decade and that the seriousness of financial crisis caused the slow recovery.


1985 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 155-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Cline

In 1982-83 Latin America experienced a depression which rivaled that of the 1930s. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined by 1% in 1982 and by 3.3% in 1983. Per capita income fell 10% below 1980 levels. The proximate cause of this depression was the crisis produced by external debt.By 1984 several countries in the region began to show signs of recovery from the severe recession and external-sector crisis. Economic growth rebounded to 2%, and the larger countries achieved impressive improvements in external balances. Brazil's total exports grew sharply, as did Mexico's non-oil exports. In 1985 growth has surged ahead in Brazil and Mexico although falling commodity prices have placed new strains on the smaller countries (and weaker oil prices, as well as erosion in domestic policy, have undermined Mexico's external position).


ILR Review ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-267
Author(s):  
Charles M. Beach ◽  
S. F. Kaliski

This paper empirically examines entire distributions of unemployment spells according to a novel duration-share approach based on decile shares and Lorenz curves of unemployment. The approach is applied to a Canadian micro-data source akin to the Work Experience Surveys for the United States. The major empirical findings are that long-term unemployment accounts for a very substantial proportion of total weeks of unemployment, despite the short duration of the average spell of unemployment. The structure of unemployment spell distribution differs significantly by gender, age, education, and region; and significant cyclical effects on the distribution of unemployment spells are associated with the severe recession in 1982.


Sociology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 1270-1289
Author(s):  
Richard Layte ◽  
David Landy

The fiscal crisis of 2008 led to severe recession and hardship in Ireland, yet there was relatively little civic unrest and public protest until the autumn of 2014 when, paradoxically, economic conditions had improved significantly. Sociologists often explain such patterns by invoking a social mechanism based on perceived ‘relative deprivation’ among a population sub-group. We show that these processes cannot explain the temporal pattern of protest in Ireland and argue instead that events should be understood through the interaction of two different processes: first, the development of an ‘incidental’ grievance which framed popular discontent about the ‘structural’ grievances brought about by the wider fiscal crisis and recession. Second, the early absence of, and later emergence of coordinated political opposition with effective ‘strategies of contention’. We use a mixed methods approach, drawing on seven waves of the European Social Survey combined with qualitative interviews.


2019 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Pilipiec ◽  
Wim Groot ◽  
Milena Pavlova

AbstractBetween 2008 and 2013, the Netherlands was confronted by a severe recession. This recession may have affected the job satisfaction of workers. Currently, little is known about how job satisfaction changes during a recession. To investigate the effect of the 2008–2013 recession on job satisfaction in the Netherlands, and to assess how job satisfaction changed over time. Longitudinal data from six waves of a national panel in the Netherlands are used to investigate the effects. These data capture the periods before, during and after the recession. A Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition technique is used to decompose the ordinal outcome variable job satisfaction. Subsequent waves are compared, which results in five comparison groups. Workers who participated in subsequent waves are matched to assess their job satisfaction over time. Cross-sectional associations are analyzed using the entire unmatched dataset. Workers became more satisfied with their job during the recession. After the recession ended, average job satisfaction decreased again. Both unmatched and matched analyses indicated only changes in job level affecting job satisfaction. The coefficient of education had a small effect cross-sectionally. The level of education and industry had a small effect longitudinally. However, these effects were not robust. Job satisfaction decreased before the recession commenced but increased during the recession. After the recession, job satisfaction decreased again. An increase in job satisfaction during the recession may be explained by a change in the composition of workers with respect to job level, instead of by the effect of predictors.


Subject Brexit's impact on Brazil's trade outlook. Significance The process of UK withdrawal from the EU (Brexit) will produce complex, uncertain and far-reaching economic effects. Brazil faces Brexit while undergoing a severe recession and profound political crisis. Trade has offered the only positive economic news in Brazil during 2016, owing largely to currency depreciation and depressed import demand. Impacts If Brexit reinforces the decline in Chinese growth, this will have a negative impact on Brazil's exports. Crucially, it is also likely to delay the conclusion of the free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur. Near-term, Brexit represents an additional source of uncertainty, with increased instability in financial and currency markets.


Subject Private philanthropy. Significance In South-east Asia, as elsewhere, there is growing pressure on civil society, from non-profit organisations to corporations, to help address the economic distress and social dislocation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Impacts Despite government and philanthropic efforts, South-east Asia is expected to experience a severe recession. A rise in philanthropy by religious organisations will fuel religious polarisation and the risk of violence post-crisis. Indonesia’s non-profit sector will likely experience a particularly sharp funding dip as foreign donations fall.


2010 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tapio Raunio

AbstractThis article examines how the Finnish Social Democratic Party has adapted to European integration. The analysis illustrates that the Social Democrats have successfully argued to their electorate that the objectives of integration are compatible with core social democratic values. Considering that Finland was hit by a severe recession in the early 1990s, discourse about economic integration and monetary stability facilitating the economic growth that is essential for job creation and the survival of domestic welfare state policies sounded appealing to SDP voters. Determined party leadership, support from trade unions and the lack of a credible threat from the other leftist parties have also contributed to the relatively smooth adaptation to Europe. However, recent internal debates about the direction of party ideology and poor electoral performances – notably in the European Parliament elections – indicate that not all sections within the party are in favour of the current ideological choices.


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