Publication

This paper describes the development of Finnish pension schemes, focusing on the use of pension funds in national policymaking. The authors demonstrate that the Finnish case is useful for the study of two latent functions of social policy: to create a unified nation after a severe civil war and to invest pension funds in a way that makes national developmental projects possible. They discuss Finland's First National Pension Scheme of 1937 and the investments in basic infrastructure, such as electricity. They also discuss the National Pension Reform of 1956, employment-related pensions in the 1960s and the use of social and monetary capital.