Essays on Economic Integration and Labour Demand

This dissertation consists of an introductory section and three essays investigating the effects of economic integration on labour demand by using theoretical models and by empirical analysis. The essays adopt an intra-industry trade approach to specify a theoretical framework of estimation for determining the effects of economic integration on employment. In all the essays the empirical aim is to explore the labour demand consequences of European integration. The first essay analyzes how labour-demand elasticities with own price have changed during the process of economic integration. As a theoretical result, intensified trade competition increases labour-demand elasticity, whereas better advantage of economies of scale decreases labour-demand elasticity by decreasing the elasticity of substitution between differentiated products. Furthermore, if integration gives rise to an increase in input-substitutability and/or outsourcing activities, labour demand will become more elastic. Using data from the manufacturing sector from 1975 to 2002, the empirical results provide support for the hypothesis that European integration has contributed to increased elasticities of total labour demand in Finland. The second essay analyzes how economic integration affects the impact of welfare poli-cies on employment. The essay considers the viability of financing the public sector, i.e. public consumption and social security expenses, by general labour taxation in an economy which has become more integrated into international product markets. The theoretical results of the second essay indicate that, as increased trade competition crowds out better economies of scale, it becomes more costly to maintain welfare systems financed by labour taxation. Using data from European countries for the years 1975 to 2004, the empirical results provide inconsistent evidence for the hypothesis that economic integration has contributed to the distortion effects of welfare policies on employment. The third essay analyzes the impact of profit sharing on employment as a way to introduce wage flexibility into the process of economic integration. The results of the essay suggest that, in theory, the effects of economic integration on the impact of profit sharing on employment clearly depend on a trade-off between intensified competition and better advantage of economies of scale. If product market competition increases, the ability of profit sharing to improve employment through economic integration increases with moderated wages. While, the economic integration associating with market power in turn decrease the possibilities of profit sharing with higher wages to improve employment. Using data from the manufacturing sector for the years 1996 to 2004, the empirical results show that profit-sharing has a positive impact on employment during the process of European integration, but can have ambiguous effects on the stability of employment in Finland.

Det grekiska dramat. En Studie av euroländeras agerande i Greklandskrisen.

Jag granskar i min avhandling pro gradu den ekonomiska krisen i Grekland som kulminerade under vären 2010 när Grekland vände sig tili de övriga medlemsländerna i Ekonomiska och monetära Unionen (EMU) med en förfrägan om ekonomisk hjälp i formav län. Syftet med avhandlingen är att undersöka hur de övriga EMU-medlemmarna fattade sitt beslut om att ekonomiskt stöda Grekland efter att landets kreditvärdighet sänkts av de internationella kreditvärderingsinstituten. Jag granskar Greklandskrisen och dess utveckling, de lösningar som man gick in för inom ramen för valutaunionen, hur besluten om stödpaketet fattades och vilka faktorer som päverkade besluten. Jag tar avstamp i Optimum Currency Area-teorin (OCA-teorin) och teorier om europeisk ekonomisk integration. Dessutom för jag en diskussion kring solidariteten mellan EUländerna, som ocksä använts som argument för stödpaketet tili Grekland. Jag klassificerar euroländerna utgäende för hur det nationella beslutet om Greklandspaketet fattats och gör därefter en agglomerativ klusteranalys, med ambitionen att förklara vilka faktorer som päverkat besluten. Syftet med klusteranalysen är att klargöra huruvida politiska faktorer, som härrör sig tili regeringen och dess sammansättning, eller ekonomiska faktorer, som bclyser statsfinansernas tillständ, bäst förklarar hur ett land fattat sitt beslut. Resultatet visar att de politiska variablerna har päverkat ländernas beslut mer an de ekonomiska, men förklaringsgraden är relativt lag i bägge fallen. Jag för vidare en diskussion om resultatet ur ett OCA-perspektiv, kriterierna för ett optimalt valutaomräde samt EMU:s utveckling i dito riktning. Jag avslutar avhandlingen med en diskussion kring EMU:s framtid.

Taloudellinen menestys etusijalla : Suomalaisten pörssiyritysten ympäristöasenteita

Tässä pro gradu -tutkielmassa selvitetään suomalaisten pörssiyritysten ympäristöasenteita. Asenteella tarkoitetaan suhteellisen pysyvää arviota tai toimintavalmiutta suhteessa ympäristöön. Lähtökohtaoletuksena on, että yrityksen perustehtävä on voiton tuottaminen osakkeenomistajille ja erilaisten sidosryhmien hyödyttäminen. Lähdeaineistona ovat yritysten yhteiskuntavastuu- ja ympäristöraportit, jotka on valittu OMX:n pohjoismaisen pörssin listalta niiden yritysten joukosta, joiden kotipaikka on Suomessa, jotka edustavat energian, perusteollisuuden ja yhdyskuntapalveluiden toimialaryhmää, ja jotka ovat julkaisseet erillisen ympäristö- tai yhteiskuntavastuuraportin. Tällaisia yrityksiä ovat Neste Oil, Fortum, Kemira, Outokumpu, Rautaruukki, M-real, Stora Enso ja UPM. Tutkimusmetodina on systemaattinen analyysi, jolla tarkoitetaan käsitteiden ja argumentaation analyysiä sekä johtopäätösten tekemistä analyysin pohjalta. Tutkimuskysymyksiä on kolme: Minkälaisia ympäristöasenteita lähteinä olevat suomalaisten pörssiyritysten ympäristö- ja yhteiskuntavastuuraportit sisältävät? Mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat tutkimuskohteena olevien yritysten ympäristöasenteisiin lähteiden perusteella? Millaisia toimintavalmiuksia yritysten ympäristöasenteet sisältävät lähteiden perusteella? Tutkielma jakaantuu johdannon, taustaluvun ja loppukatsauksen lisäksi kolmeen päälukuun. Taustaluvussa esitellään ihmis-, tekniikka- ja luontokeskeinen ympäristöasenne. Tämä kolmijako ja näiden eri asenteiden piirteet muodostavat haravan lähteiden analysoinnille sen selvittämiseksi, millainen asenne tutkimuksen kohteeksi valituilla yrityksillä on ympäristöön. Ensimmäisessä pääluvussa tarkastellaan kestävää kehitystä ja sen periaatteiden noudattamista, luonnonvarojen käyttöä raaka-aineena sekä toiminnalle asetettuja tavoitteita ja asiakkaiden toiveisiin vastaamista. Yritykset pyrkivät suojelemaan luontoa tuleville sukupolville, kehittämään ympäristömyötäisempiä tuotteita, käyttämään luonnonvaroja kestävästi ja hallitsemaan päästöjen ja jätteiden syntymistä teknisillä ratkaisuilla ja kierrätyksellä. Toisessa pääluvussa tarkastellaan taloudellisen menestyksen ja ympäristön hallinnan vaikutusta yritysten ympäristöasenteisiin. Asenteisiin vaikuttavat taloudellisen menestyksen saavuttaminen, hiilidioksidipäästöjen vähentäminen, ympäristöpoliittiset ohjauskeinot ja ympäristöasioiden hallinta. Kolmannessa pääluvussa tarkastellaan yritystoiminnan ympäristövaikutuksia, niiden taustalla olevia asenteita sekä millaisia toimintavalmiuksia asenteet sisältävät. Tällaisia toimintavalmiuksia ovat yritysten osallistuminen ympäristönsuojeluun, yrityksen ympäristövaikutukset sekä yhteistyö ympäristöjärjestöjen kanssa ja ympäristöntutkimus. Yritysten asenne ympäristöön on pääsääntöisesti ihmis- ja tekniikkakeskeinen. Luontokeskeinen asenne ympäristöön tulee raporteissa esille vain harvoin, esimerkiksi kuvattaessa ympäristövaikutuksia ekosysteemin ja luonnon monimuotoisuuden kannalta. Yritysten asenne ympäristöön painottuu tällöinkin ihmis- ja tekniikkakeskeiseksi, sillä ympäristönsuojelun motiivina voi olla vain ympäristöpoliittisiin vaatimuksiin vastaaminen tai yrityskuvan parantaminen.

Foreign Capital and Finland : Central government's first period of reliance on international financial markets, 1862-1938

The main objective of the study is to evaluate the Finnish central government s foreign borrowing between the years 1862 and 1938. Most of this period was characterised by deep capital market integration that bears resemblance to the liberal world financial order at the turn of the millennium. The main aim is to analyse the credit risk associated with the state and its determination by evaluating the world financial market centres perception of Finland. By doing this, the study is also expected to provide an additional dimension to Finland s political and economic history by incorporating into the research the assessments of international capital markets regarding Finland during a period that witnessed profound political and economic changes in Finnish society. The evaluation of the credit risk mainly relies on exchange-rate risk free time series of the state s foreign bonds. They have been collected from quotations in the stock exchanges in Helsinki, Hamburg, Paris and London. In addition, it investigates Finland s exposure to short-term debt and Moody s credit ratings assigned to Finland. The study emphasises the importance of the political risk. It suggests that the hey-day of the state s reliance on foreign capital markets took place during last few decades of the 19th century when Finland enjoyed a wide autonomy in the Russian Empire and prudently managed its economy, highlighted in Finland s adherence to the international gold standard. Political confrontations in Finland and, in particular, in Russia and the turbulence of the world financial system prevented the return of this beneficial position again. Through its issuance of foreign bonds the state was able to import substantial amounts of foreign capital, which was sorely needed to foster economic development in Finland. Moreover, the study argues that the state s presence in the western capital markets not only had economic benefits, but it also increased the international awareness of Finland s distinct and separate status in the Russian Empire and later underlined its position as an independent republic.

Vain hätapua? : Taloudellinen avustaminen diakoniatyön professionaalisen itseymmärryksen ilmentäjänä

Financial Help Alone? Financial help as an exponent of professional diaconal work One essential form of helping people in the Evangelical Lutheran Church s diaconal work is providing economic aid. It can be seen as work which is in accordance with the spirit of the Church Order (4:3). One of the tasks of diaconal work, determined by the Church Order, is to help those whose distress is the greatest and who have no other source of help. This financial support has become a permanent and essential working method, which has also created tension of various kinds. Financial support has been criticized, especially when the support has been used to fill a gap in the social services provided by the government. It has been argued that diaconal work has been forced to take on responsibility for tasks that belong to the welfare state. The tensions involved in the financial support of diaconal work do not only concern the patching up and supplementing of the deficiencies in the welfare state s services but also the question of diaconal workers self-understanding of financial support and how it relates to their professionalism. In this thesis, I examine the experiences and visions diaconal workers have concerning financial support in their work with clients. The viewpoint of my work is the diaconal workers own experiences and interpretations of the meaning of financial support in customer service. In the articles of my thesis, I examined the meanings that diaconal workers gave to financial support in the aspects of work motivation, empowerment, expertise and tensions. The research material of my articles consists of three different data, which are theme interviews from diaconal workers, a survey from diaconal workers of Espoo and a diaconal barometer of 2009. I have analysed the theme interviews and the survey using qualitative content analysis. The results of my articles showed that diaconal workers motivation in tasks concerning economic aid was sustained by the nature and spiritual aspects of support activities. Work that supported empowerment through financial assistance meant influencing the client s personal life, community and local ties and structural circumstances of the surrounding society. Diaconal workers expertise in financial support work can be characterised as horizontal, which means that the expertise was built on acknowledging the client s dignity, the uniqueness of the client s life situation and listening to the client s own voice. Diaconal workers were also experts in community and area-based work. The tensions in financial support work are linked to its unofficial and undefined role in the field of social welfare and the inability of other aiding parties to respond to their duties. The results of my thesis on the experiences and visions of financial support reveal that it is multilateral and multidimensional. Diaconal workers used financial support to help the clients, taking into account their individual, communal, social and spiritual context. The professionalism of this financial support is reflectively related to the client s need of help and the spontaneity and unexpectedness of the situation. Support work was deeply bound to diaconal workers experiences of spirituality as the basic value in their work, the foundation of their idea of humanity and their method of helping others. In different tasks of financial support diaconal workers balanced between traditional, individual client work based on caritas and working methods which are based on supporting the individual s empowerment and active citizenship, as in postmodern social work. Diaconal workers experiences of financial support illustrated the transition or turning point in the professionalism of diaconal work, which involves finding one s own, stronger and clearer professional identity than earlier with respect to other helpers in society. Creating a unique identity is part of the empowerment process of diaconal work, in which it must define its professional role by itself. In postmodern pluralism and the fragmented context of diaconal activities, the question arose as to whether the spiritual traditions and traditional values of diaconal work support the modifications and adaptations needed in new, unpredictable situations. Diaconal work is said to be fast to react, able to predict changes and adapt to those changes. To preserve its sensitive reactive ability, also in the complex postmodern world, it must retain its own views and orientations. Otherwise, the distinctive values and traditions of diaconal work might sustain static diaconal work, employee-centeredness and a smug attitude when defining beneficiaries and needs, which highlights the paternalism of diaconal work. Such paternalism may complicate the progress of working methods which are based on empowerment and citizenship.

La modernización entre cafetales : San José, Costa Rica, 1880-1930

This work examines the urban modernization of San José, Costa Rica, between 1880 and 1930, using a cultural approach to trace the emergence of the bourgeois city in a small Central American capital, within the context of order and progress. As proposed by Henri Lefebvre, Manuel Castells and Edward Soja, space is given its rightful place as protagonist. The city, subject of this study, is explored as a seat of social power and as the embodiment of a cultural transformation that took shape in that space, a transformation spearheaded by the dominant social group, the Liberal elite. An analysis of the product built environment allows us to understand why the city grew in a determined manner: how the urban space became organized and how its infrastructure and services distributed. Although the emphasis is on the Liberal heyday from 1880-1930, this study also examines the history of the city since its origins in the late colonial period through its consolidation as a capital during the independent era, in order to characterize the nineteenth century colonial city that prevailed up to 1890 s. A diverse array of primary sources including official acts, memoirs, newspaper sources, maps and plans, photographs, and travelogues are used to study the initial phase of San Jose s urban growth. The investigation places the first period of modern urban growth at the turn of the nineteenth century within the prevailing ideological and political context of Positivism and Liberalism. The ideas of the city s elite regarding progress were translated into and reflected in the physical transformation of the city and in the social construction of space. Not only the transformations but also the limits and contradictions of the process of urban change are examined. At the same time, the reorganization of the city s physical space and the beginnings of the ensanche are studied. Hygiene as an engine of urban renovation is explored by studying the period s new public infrastructure (including pipelines, sewer systems, and the use of asphalt pavement) as part of the Saneamiento of San José. The modernization of public space is analyzed through a study of the first parks, boulevards and monuments and the emergence of a new urban culture prominently displayed in these green spaces. Parks and boulevards were new public and secular places of power within the modern city, used by the elite to display and educate the urban population into the new civic and secular traditions. The study goes on to explore the idealized image of the modern city through an analysis of European and North American travelogues and photography. The new esthetic of theatrical-spectacular representation of the modern city constructed a visual guide of how to understand and come to know the city. A partial and selective image of generalized urban change presented only the bourgeois facade and excluded everything that challenged the idea of progress. The enduring patterns of spatial and symbolic exclusion built into Costa Rica s capital city at the dawn of the twentieth century shed important light on the long-term political social and cultural processes that have created the troubled urban landscapes of contemporary Latin America.

Dancing and Professional Dancers in Roman Egypt

The main aim of the study is to create a many-sided view of dancing in Roman Egypt (1st - early 4th centuries AD) and especially of the dancers who earned their living by dancing as hired performers. Even though dancers and other performers played a central part in many kinds of festivities throughout the ancient world, research on ancient professional dancers is rare and tends to rest on the ancient literature, which reflects the opinions of the elite. Documentary written sources (i.e., papyri, ostraka) the core of the present study are mentioned rather superficially, easily resulting in a stereotypical view of the dancers. This study will balance the picture of professional dancers in antiquity and of ancient dancing in a more general sense. The second aim characterizes this study as basic research: to provide a corpus of written sources from Greco-Roman Egypt on dancing and to discuss pictorial sources contemporary with the texts. The study also takes into account the theoretical discussion that centres on dancing as a nonverbal communicative mode. Dancers are seen as significant conveyors of social and cultural matters. This study shows that dancers were hired to perform especially in religious contexts, where the local associations on the village level also played an important part as the employers of the performers. These performers had a better standard of living in economic terms than the average hired worker, and dancers were better paid than other performers. In the Egyptian villages and towns, where the dancers performed and lived, the dancers do not seem to have been marginal because they were professionals or because of some ethnic or social background. However, their possible marginality may have occurred for reasons related to the practicalities of their profession (e.g., the itinerant life style). The oriental background of performers was a literary topos reflecting partly the situation in the centres of the empire, especially Rome, where many performers were of other than Roman origin. The connection of dancing, prostitution and slavery reflects the essential link between dance, body and gender: dancers are equated with such professions or socio-legal statuses where the body is the focus of attention, a commodity and a source of sensual pleasure; this dimension is clearly observable in ancient literature. According to the Egyptian documentary sources, there is no watertight evidence that professional dancers would have been engaged in prostitution and very little, if any, evidence that the disapproval of the professional dancers expressed by the ancient authors was shared by the Egyptians. From the 4th century onwards the dancers almost disappear from the documentary sources, reflecting the political and religious changes in the Mediterranean east.

Teatterinjohtamisen dramaturgiaa : Keskeiset tehtävät, arjen ongelmat ja rakenteelliset muutostarpeet

DRAMATURGY OF THEATRE MANAGEMENT Essential tasks, everyday problems and the need for structural changes Theatre justifies its existence only through high quality performances. Maintaining the artistic level and organizing performances are the primary tasks of a manager, even though in everyday life this often seems to be overshadowed by all the other tasks of a manager s work. How does a theatre manager design strategies and make everyday decisions if aims are to have artistically meaningful performances, financial success and a socially healthy ensemble, when not only artistic work or leadership of an organization are to be taken into consideration, but also a manpower-based art institution with long traditions? What does theatre management consist of and what kind of dramaturgical movement happens in it? Based on interviews carried out in five different city theatres in Finland in the years 2004-2008, incident stories were written within a continuous comparison theory frame. Social constructionism within a dramaturgic framework enabled versatile dialog on a manager s work and problem areas. The result is an interpretative study, where instead of common regularities, many details are collected that can be taken into consideration when similar situations occur. Based on the interviews and historical data, four factors that influence a manager s work were chosen: ownership, media, work community and programme. Within theatre management, the central problems were 1) the inconsistent use of theatre resources and problems in corporate governance caused by the administrative models; 2) the theatre s image, based on the image of its manager, as presented by the media and its influence on the wellbeing of the staff; 3) unsolved problems between the staff left behind by the previous managers and problems related to casting; 4) knowledge of the audience. These points influence how the manager plans the artistic programme and divides the resources. The theatre manager s job description has remained quite the same since the early days of Kaarlo Bergbom. In the future, special attention should be placed on why managers face fairly similar problems decade after decade. Reducing these problems partly depends on whether structural improvements are made to a theatre s close network of owners, financers and labour unions. During this study clear evidence was seen that structural changes are necessary in the production of performances and in the creation of a more versatile programme. In this process, different kinds of co-operation, experiments, development projects, continuing education and international relations have special importance, especially if the aim is to make it possible for all citizens of Finland to enjoy a vibrant and revitalized theatre.

Rossijskaja Karelija i karely v imperskoi politike Rossii, 1905-1917

Russian Karelians were one of the small peasant nations of the Russian Empire that began to identify themselves as nations during the late imperial period. At that historical moment Russian Karelia fell between an economically undeveloped empire and the rapidly modernizing borderland of Finland. The economic and cultural lure of Finland drew Karelians into the Finnish camp. This attraction was seen as a challenge to Russia and influenced the straggle between Russia and Finland for the Karelians. This struggle was waged from 1905 to 1917. This work is focused on the beginning stage of the struggle, its various phases, and their results. The confrontation extended into different dimensions (economic, political, ideological, church and cultural politics) and occurred on two levels: central and regional. Countermeasures against local nationalisms developed much earlier both in Russia and in other empires for use were also used in the Russian Karelian case. Economic policies were deployed to try to make relations with Russia more alluring for Karelians and to improve their economic condition. However, these efforts produced only minimal results due to the economic weakness of the empire and a lack of finances. Fear of the economic integration of the Karelians and Finns, which would have stimulated the economy of the Karelia, also hindered these attempts. The further development of the Orthodox Church, the schools and the zemstvos in Karelia yielded fewer results than expected due to the economic underdevelopment of the region and the avoidance of the Finnish language. Policizing measures were the most successfull, as all activities in Russian Karelia by the Finns were entirely halted in practice. However, the aspiration of Russian Karelians to integrate their home districts with Finland remained a latent force that just waited for an opportunity to push to the surface again. Such a chance materialized with the Russian revolution. The Karelian question was also a part of Russian domestic political confrontation. At the and of the 1800s, the Russian nationalist right had grown strong and increasingly gained the favor of the autocracy. The right political forces exploited the Karelian question in its anti-Finnish ideology and in its general resistance to the national emancipation of the minority peoples of Russia. A separate ideology was developed, focusing on the closeness of Karelians to the "great Russian people." Simultaneously, this concept found a place in the ultramonarchist myth of the particularly close connection between the people and tsar that was prominent in the era of Nicholas II. This myth assigned the Karelians a place amongst the "simple people" faithful to the tsar.

Archaeology of wings : Birds and people in the Baltic Sea region during the Stone Age

The prominent roles of birds, often mentioned in historical sources, are not well reflected in archaeological research. Absence or scarcity of bird bones in archaeological assemblages has been often seen as indication of a minor role of birds in the prehistoric economy or ideology, or explained by taphonomic loss. Few studies exist where birds form the basis for extensive archaeological interpretation. In this doctoral dissertation bird bone material from various Stone Age sites in the Baltic Sea region is investigated. The study period is approximately 7000-3400 BP, comprising mainly Neolithic cultures. The settlement material comes from Finland, Åland, Gotland, Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. Osteological materials are used for studying the economic and cultural importance of birds, fowling methods and principal fowling seasons. The bones were identified and earlier identifications partially checked with help of a reference material of modern skeletons. Fracture analysis was used in order to study the deposition history of bones at Ajvide settlement site. Birds in burials at two large cemeteries, Ajvide on Gotland and Zvejnieki in northern Latvia were investigated in order to study the roles of birds in burial practices. My study reveals that the economic importance of birds is at least seasonally often more prominent than usually thought, and varies greatly in different areas. Fowling has been most important in coastal areas, and especially during the breeding season. Waterbirds and grouse species were generally the most important groups in Finnish Stone Age economy. The identified species composition shows much resemblance to contemporary hunting with species such as the mallard and capercaillie commonly found. Burial materials and additional archaeological evidence from Gotland, Latvia and some other parts of northern Europe indicate that birds –e.g., jay, whooper swan, ducks – have been socially and ideologically important for the studied groups (indicating a place in the belief system, e.g. clan totemism). The burial finds indicate that some common ideas about waterbirds (perhaps as messengers or spirit helpers) might have existed in the northern European Stone Age.

Aineellista ja aineetonta turvaa : Ruokakunnat, ekologis-taloudelliset resurssit ja kontaktinmuodostus Valkealassa 1630 1750

Material and immaterial security. Households, ecological and economic resources and formation of contacts in Valkeala parish from the 1630s to the 1750s. The geographical area of the thesis, Valkeala parish in the region of Kymenlaakso, is a very interesting area owing to its diversity, both in terms of natural setting and economic and cultural structure. The study begins by outlining the ecological and economic features of Valkeala and by analysing household structures. The main focus of the research lies in the contacts of the households with the outside world. The following types of contacts are chosen as indicators of the interaction: trade and credit relations, guarantees, co-operation, marriages and godparentage. The main theme of the contact analysis is to observe the significance of three factors, namely geographical extent, affluence level and kinship, to the formation of contacts. It is also essential to chart the interdependencies between ecological and economic resources, changes in the structure of households and the formation of contacts during the period studied. The time between the 1630s and the 1750s was characterized by wars, crop losses and population changes, which had an effect on the economic framework and on the structural variation of households and contact fields. In the 17th and 18th centuries Valkeala could be divided, economically, into two sections according to the predominant cultivation technique. The western area formed the field area and the eastern and northern villages the swidden area. Multiple family households were dominant in the latter part of the 17th century, and for most of the study period, the majority of people lived in the more complex households rather than in simple families. Economic resources had only a moderate impact on the structure of contacts. There was a clear connection between bigger household size and the extent and intensity of contacts. The jurisdictional boundary that ran across Valkeala from the northwest to the southeast and divided the parish into two areas influenced the formation of contacts more than the parish boundaries. Support and security were offered largely by the primary contacts with one s immediate family, neighbours and friends. Economic support was channelled from the wealthier to the less well off by credits. Cross-marriages, cross-godparentage and marital networks could be seen as manifestations of an aim towards stability and the joining of resources. It was essential for households both to secure the workforce needed for a minimum level of subsistence and to ensure the continuation of the family line. These goals could best be reached by complex households that could adapt to the prevailing circumstances and also had wider and more multi-layered contacts offering material and immaterial security.

Talousmetafysiikan kritiikkiä

Jakke Holvas: A Critique of the Metaphysics of Economy The research problem of this dissertation is the commonly held opinion according to which everything has become a question of economy in the present day. Economy legitimates and justifies. In this study, the pattern of thinking and conceptualizing in which economy figures as the ultimate reason is called the metaphysics of economy. The defining characteristic of the metaphysics of economy is its failure to recognize non-economic rules, ethics, or ways of existence. The sources included in the study cover certain classics of philosophy (Plato, Aristotle, Friedrich Nietzsche) and sociology (Karl Marx, Max Weber, Marcel Mauss), as well as the more recent French social theory (Jean Baudrillard, Michel Foucault). The research methods used are textual analysis and evaluation of concepts by means of historical comparison. The background to the study is given by the views of historians and sociologists according to whom traditional forms have ceased to exist and the market economy become established as the western system of values. The study identifies points of transition from the traditional forms to economic values. In addition, the dissertation focuses on the modern non-economic forms. The study examines the economic and ethical meanings of gift in antiquity in Homer, Plato, and Aristotle. Following Marcel Mauss, the study analyzes the forms and principles of gift exchange. The study also applies Nietzsche’s philosophy to evaluate under what conditions giving a gift becomes an act of exercising power that puts its receiver into debt. The conclusion of the study is that the classics of philosophy and sociology can rightly be interpreted in terms of the metaphysics of economy, but they also offer grounds for criticizing this metaphysics, even alternatives. One such alternative is non-economic archaic ethic. The study delineates a duality between economy and non-economy as well as creating concepts which could be used in the future to critically analyze economy from a position external to the economic system of concepts.

Uskon yhdistämät : Englantilaisten puritaanien uskonnollinen yhteisö ennen sisällissotaa

Yhteisö, jonka englantilaiset puritaanit muodostivat, on kiinnostanut monia tutkijoita, mutta yleensä vain jonkin toisen tutkimuskysymyksen ohessa. Tässä tutkielmassa pyritään luomaan yleiskuva siihen, mitä puritaanit yhteisöstään sanoivat tai ajattelivat ennen 1640-lukua ja sen mullistuksia. Keskeisiä kysymyksiä ovat, olivatko rajat muihin selvät, mitä puritaaniyhteisö antoi jäsenilleen ja mikä oli uskonveljeyden asema muihin sosiaalisiin suhteisiin nähden. Lähteinä on käytetty pääasiassa opastavaa ja opettavaa kirjallisuutta ja saarnoja sekä päiväkirjoja ja joitakin säilyneitä kirjeitä. Ulkopuolisten silmissä puritaanit olivat korkean moraalin vaatijoita, perinteisten hauskanpidon muotojen lopettajia ja naapurisovun huonontajia. Puritaaneilla oli kuitenkin hyvä tarkoitus toisten asioihin sekaantumisessaan: he olivat rakentamassa raamatullista ja hurskasta yhteiskuntaa ja katsoivat olevansa osallisia siihen syntiin, jota jättivät moittimatta. Vallanpitäjät puolestaan pitivät puritaaneja uhkana vakaudelle. Puritaanit kuitenkin halusivat kunnioittaa maallisia auktoriteetteja ja hierarkioita, mikäli se oli mahdollista pysyen samalla uskollisena Jumalan sanalle. Puritaaniyhteisöä laajennettiin ja pidettiin yllä tukemalla puritaanisia saarnaajia, julkaisemalla puritaanista kirjallisuutta ja pitämällä huoli puolison, lasten ja palvelijoiden uskonnollisesta kasvatuksesta. Puritaanit tuntuvat pitäneen kääntymyskokemuksessa tärkeänä synnintuntoon tuloa, mikä selittää heidän käyttämiään keinoja eli saarnoja, painatteita ja lähimmäisten synneistä huomauttamista. Perheeseen tosin yleisesti kehotettiin mahdollisuuksien mukaan valitsemaan hurskaita jäseniä puolisoksi ja palvelijoiksi. Lukuisissa kirjoituksissa puritaaneja kehotettiin pysymään erillään syntisistä ja määriteltiin, millainen yhteys näihin oli luvallista. Täysin sulkeutunut puritaaniyhteisö ei kuitenkaan ollut, sillä muun muassa taloudellinen kanssakäyminen oli sallittua ja ulkopuolisten elämään puututtiin monin tavoin. Uskonnollinen kirjallisuus ei juuri auta hahmottamaan puritaaniyhteisön rajoja, sillä käsitteitä, joilla viitattiin uskonnolliseen yhteisöön tai siihen kuulumattomiin, ei määritelty eikä käytetty johdonmukaisesti. Syynä tähän epämääräisyyteen oli ehkä varovaisuus tai separatismista irtisanoutuminen. Puritaanit eivät koskaan järjestäytyneet laajasti ja pysyvästi, eikä jäsenyyteen liittynyt mitään erikoisia rituaaleja tai merkkejä, siksi käytännössäkin uskonnollisen yhteisön rajat saattoivat olla osittain liukuvat, mutta vastakkainasettelu pyhien ja syntisten välillä oli jyrkkä. Aineellisen avun antamisen saneli ensisijaisesti kristillinen rakkaus ja avun tarve, mutta uskonveljille annettiin kuitenkin erityisasema. Kaikkein tärkeintä oli huolehtia ydinperheen tarpeiden täyttämisestä, mutta heti sitä kaukaisemmat sukulaiset saattoi syrjäyttää uskonveli. Sama hierarkia näkyy muissakin ihmissuhteita koskevissa ohjeissa, joten puritanismi ei varsinaisesti pyrkinyt horjuttamaan perheinstituutiota, vaikka perhekään ei ollut niin pyhä kuin Jumalan sana. Puritanismi myös ylläpiti sosiaalisia rajoja, joskin yhteinen uskonto ja sen kulttuuri henkisesti saattoivatkin lähentää sosiaaliryhmiä toisiinsa.