The Violent Origins of Finnish Equality

Abstract

Why is Finland today an equal country? We employ newly collected historical data to document that Finland was extremely unequal in terms of income and land distribution until a violent uprising in 1918 which was a major turning point in Finnish inequality. We show that high inequality partly originated from the famine of 1866-1868 which increased the concentration of land and power to large landowners. Regions with more exposure to the famine also had worse labor market outcomes and more coercion by the early 1900s. Using unique micro-data on casualties of the Finnish Civil War, we demonstrate that the famine contributed to insurgency participation through these factors. Although unsuccessful in replacing the government, the insurgency led to significant policy changes, including radical land redistribution and a full extension of franchise. A more drastic shift towards equality occurred in locations that were more affected by the famine and that had higher levels of pre-conflict inequality and more insurgents. These results indicate that equality has not been a persistent feature of the Finnish society inherent in its culture or values but is instead an outcome of institutional changes.