The world’s happiest country: Does social protection have anything to do with Finnish Happiness?

For the fifth year in a row, the world’s happiest country is Finland (CNN, 2022). In this writing, I will explore if effective social protection systems and higher social spending on social protection may be contributing to Finnish happiness. Social protection primarily targets vulnerable populations and tries to protect them from poverty and vulnerability (The UN Refugee Agency, 2022). I believe, while targeting vulnerable people, effective social protection systems can also contribute to the well-being of those that are not necessarily vulnerable and hence lead to increased happiness in the overall population.

Helsinki, Finland. Photo by Ethan Hu on Unsplash

The world's happiest country is determined by Gallup polling data from 149 countries. Six specific categories are taken into consideration in the analysis of the world’s happiest nation. These categories are (i) gross domestic product per capita, (ii) social support, (iii) healthy life expectancy, (iv) freedom to make life choices, (v) generosity of the general population, and (vi) perceptions of internal and external corruption levels. In addition to these categories, positive and negative affect measures are viewed as indicators of happiness (World Happiness Report, 2022). Positive affect is defined as “the affect measures for enjoyment, laughter, and doing and learning something interesting” (ibid). Negative affect, on the other hand, is measured by self-reporting of feeling worried, sad, and angry (World Happiness Report, 2022).

I think that effective social protection systems can increase the feeling of safety and thus contribute to how much people experience positive affect. “Social protection systems help individuals and families, especially the poor and vulnerable, cope with crises and shocks, find jobs, improve productivity, invest in health and education of their children, and protect the ageing population” (The World Bank, 2022). Social protection, however, does not only benefit those who are in need but also contributes to the overall well-being of societies at large (United Nations, 2018). Nordheim and Martinussen (2019) argue that effective social protection systems and public spending on healthcare provisions and poverty reduction strategies can positively affect the overall well-being of society. Additionally, O’Connor (2017) states that nations with higher social spending on social protection report higher levels of life satisfaction.

Finland, as the world’s happiest nation, enjoys one of the best social protection systems in the world. The Finnish social protection system primarily focuses on healthcare services, old age and unemployment benefits. Moreover, in 2020, the total expenditure on social protection of the Finnish Government was the second highest in the EU after France (25.7% of GDP; Eurostat, 2020). 

Although social protection strategies mainly target vulnerable people, they also appear to play a role in contributing to the happiness of the larger population.

Do you agree or not? Comment below to let me know what you think! 

List of References 

CNN, 2022. Accessed:

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-happiest-countries-2022-wellness/index.html

Eurostat, 2020. Accessed: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=File:Total_general_government_expenditure_on_social_protection,_2020,_%25_of_GDP.png#filehistory

Kelsey J. O’Connor (2017) Happiness and Welfare State Policy Around the World, Review of Behavioral Economics, DOI: 10.1561/105.00000071

OECD, 2022. Accessed: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/83f2a08d-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/83f2a08d-en

Oda Nordheim & Pål E. Martinussen (2019) Happiness and the role of social protection: how types of social spending affected individuals’ life satisfaction in OECD countries, 1980–2012, Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy, DOI: 10.1080/21699763.2019.1601586

The UN Refugee Agency, 2022. Accessed: https://www.unhcr.org/social-protection.html

United Nations, 2018. Promoting Inclusion through social protection: Report on the world social situation 2018. United Nations, New York.

World Happiness Report, 2022. Accessed: https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2022/happiness-benevolence-and-trust-during-covid-19-and-beyond/#ranking-of-happiness-2019-2021