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Leveraging Policy Capabilities in Russia and Finland during the Pandemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2022

Esuna Dugarova Open the ORCID record for Esuna Dugarova [Opens in a new window]
Esuna Dugarova*
Affiliation:
PhD, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK Email: esuna@cantab.net
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Abstract

The current article provides comparative analysis of policy capabilities in COVID-19 response in Russia and Finland by examining key challenges and impacts of the pandemic, and effects of anti-crisis socio-economic measures. It finds that the two countries adopted diverse policy responses that prioritised different segments of society with corresponding budget allocations. Such policy choice has been underpinned by pre-existing national priorities, while largely leveraging established policy legacy, institutions, and instruments within their welfare models. Russia has focused on supporting households through pro-natalist social assistance in line with its demographic concerns and persistent poverty, whereas Finland concentrated on protecting employment via social insurance and labour market interventions amid declining working-age population and labour supply. It is further suggested that improving policy capabilities via investments in comprehensive social security, welfare systems and gender-responsive policies can contribute to better development outcomes, while addressing gender power imbalances in the post-COVID-19 era.

Keywords

Social protection and labour marketgender equalityCOVID-19 pandemicRussiaFinland
Type
Themed Section on Mapping the Shifts in Russian and European Welfare Polities
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 22 , Issue 2: THEMED SECTION: Mapping the Shifts in Russian and European Welfare Polities , April 2023 , pp. 376 - 390
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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