Inter-cohort wealth development in Finland, 1987–2016

Abstract

This article examines inter-cohort wealth development in Finland during the period 1987–2016. As previous research has stated that annual variation has increased over time, we aim toimprove previous research by focusing on gross, net, and financial wealth gaps betweencohorts. The opening of the Finnish financial markets and the introduction of new types ofinvestment instruments since the late 1980s created entirely new circumstances for businessand financial markets. We utilise the time series of the Official Statistics of Finland’s (OFS)Household Assets. We use the marginal effects method with a generalised linear model (GLM),and interaction terms. The results show that inter-cohort wealth inequality in gross- and netwealth has not increased over time, and all differences are attributed to within-year variations.As a new finding, financial wealth shows variations among three distinct investment groups,and higher investment interest can be associated with decreasing initial investment ages amongyounger cohorts. It seems that younger cohorts embraced new financial instruments much morein early age than did their older counterparts. Overall, the results show that financialderegulation considerably increased investment in financial assets among all cohort groups.

Double Objective in Mind: Translating American Management Ideas in the Context of Cold War Finland

“…100 There were several reasons for the initial opposition to American influence. 101 After World War II, the old generation of corporate executives represented a patriarchal style of management 102 that included the idea of innate leadership. Executive education could have challenged the patriarch's authority.…”