Mikko Niemelä appointed as a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. - INVEST Research Flagship Centre Professor Mikko Niemelä has been invited to become a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. Membership, granted...

Our Professor @niemelamikko.bsky.social has been invited to become a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. Lifetime membership is a significant recognition of a distinguished scholar.

Congratulations, Mikko 🎉👏

👉 invest.utu.fi/news/mikko-n...

#SocialPolicy #inequality #WellBeing.

Is social media dying? How much did Twitter change as it became X? Which party now dominates the conversation?

Using nationally representative ANES data from 2020 & 2024, I map how the U.S. social media landscape has changed

Here are the key take-aways 🧵

Full paper out now in in JQD:DM!

The 30s are the new 20s for having babies The data behind the US "record low" births headlines are more nuanced than they appear

Another nice explainer from demographer @drjenndowd.bsky.social on how to interpret statistics on birth rates:

“most demographers expect completed cohort fertility rates will trend downwards, but not as dramatically as the birth rate “crisis” narrative implies”

Very well written text. However, the statement on ‘affordable housing for all’ is somewhat outdated, and housing policies across the Nordic countries vary considerably.

<em>Population and Development Review</em> | Population Council Journal | Wiley Online Library This paper argues for a paradigm shift in demography, moving beyond the alarmist and deterministic narratives fixated on “lowest-low fertility (LLF)” (total fertility rate ≤ 1.3). Initially a useful ...

“We argue for a paradigm shift in demography, moving beyond alarmist narratives fixated on “lowest-low fertility”. Initially useful, the concept now obscures more than it reveals, as it conflates vastly different demographic trajectories across an increasingly heterogeneous global landscape”

New research-based approach updates welfare states to times of austerity - INVEST Research Flagship Centre An international group of researchers propose a new, more sustainable approach for welfare states to update their policies.

Our researchers propose a new, more sustainable approach for welfare states to update their policies. The approach is presented in a newly published open-access book, now available.

invest.utu.fi/news/new-res...

@janierola.net @pasimoisio.bsky.social

I have a bunch of positions open with @mjantti.bsky.social and @anttikouvo.bsky.social in four different projects!

You need a PhD (or you should be about to defend your thesis), quant methods skills are necessary, but otherwise we are pretty flexible.

#sociology #demography #economics #statistics

Democracy at risk: Resisting the rule of the richest Oxfam’s 2026 inequality report charts the fortunes of the world’s billionaires and asks: is extreme wealth concentration incompatible with a democratic society?

“It's one thing to buy a private jet or a mansion, but quite another to buy off a judge, a legislator, a social network or a newspaper”

– @cabrowns.bsky.social of @oxfaminternational.bsky.social in our latest blog on the risks to democracy posed by extreme wealth concentration #LSEInequalitiesBlog

The relationship between childbirth & women's careers is central to understanding gender inequality. In a new paper, Gallen et al. examine unplanned pregnancies & find that childbirth can lead to a 25% long-term earnings penalty, with even larger results for younger women.
Read now → bit.ly/4a9QCTG

The brutal geography of global elite scientific research - LSE Impact In theory where you are from is not meant to determine the quality of your research. The geography of elite research shows this to be untrue.

In theory, where you are from and where you undertake your research shouldn't matter.

In reality, the geography of elite research remains firmly entrenched in a small number of locations.

@rodriguez-pose.bsky.social @neillee.bsky.social @lsegeography.bsky.social
@lseimpactblog.bsky.social

Inequality and health: Lost in the mists of time? Inequality has a profound negative effect on health and wellbeing: not because it suddenly kills, but by slowly reshaping how people live, relate, cope, and age

“Inequality has left such a deep imprint on health and wellbeing not because it suddenly kills, but because it slowly reshapes how people live, relate, cope and age”

– Richard Wilkinson & @profkepickett.bsky.social of @equalitytrust.bsky.social

#LSEInequalitiesBlog

New study: serious illness leads to long-term earnings losses in Finland, hitting migrants harder. Average loss ≈ €4,000/year for migrants vs. €2,600 for natives. Gaps stem from job conditions.

@wahaid.bsky.social @elinakilpi.bsky.social #laurasalonen

👉 invest.utu.fi/news/serious...

Abstract Submissions - INVEST Research Flagship Centre Please send your abstract latest on 9th of February, 2026 Abstract submission Please note, that maximum length for the title...

Abstract submission to INVEST conference organized in the coming spring is now open. The conference is 7.-8.5.2026 in Turku. Research on welfare state from all angles, including urban studies. invest.utu.fi/conference/a...

As dangerous eugenic ideas spread, NIH falls silent Federal research agencies are pulling back from fostering public discussions about science after the hollowing out of government communications offices.

Highly recommended read about the politicisation of science in the US and how this will help the resurgence of eugenic ideology and scientific racism.

“For the first time, there is a political appointee in the NIH communications operations”

www.statnews.com/2025/12/18/t...

📢LEARN at INVEST Research Flagship Seminar, Helsinki

Ryan Gibbons presented co-authored work with @janierola.net @elinakilpi.bsky.social on whether socioeconomic differences between Finnish schools have grown & implications for educational inequality.

📄LEARN Working paper coming soon

#LEARNINEQ

AI is accelerating a tech backlash in American classrooms Handwritten and oral exams are making a comeback

Handwritten and oral exams are making a comeback

Get ready: Call for abstracts for INVEST Conference 2026 will open on Monday 1st Dec. The conference theme is: Building equal societies: from scientific findings to societal transformation. Follow for updates!

More info on the conference: invest.utu.fi/conference/

#INVESTConference

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Our comparison of socioeconomic segregation in European capital regions has been published. Ubarevičienė et al: ”A comparative study of socio-economic segregation in European capital city-regions: From segregation to desegregation?” journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

The G20 should lead efforts on poverty and well-being metrics To reduce hunger, poverty and inequalities requires he right metrics to track progress and evaluate interventions, writes Jakob Dirksen. But neither crude aggregates (like GDP) nor dashboards of…

To alleviate hunger and poverty, reduce inequalities and advance wellbeing requires effectively tracking progress and evaluating interventions.

Current metrics like GDP are not fit for purpose – Jakob Dirksen @lsesocialpolicy.bsky.social for @lseinequalities.bsky.social

The G20 should lead efforts on poverty and well-being metrics To reduce hunger, poverty and inequalities requires he right metrics to track progress and evaluate interventions, writes Jakob Dirksen. But neither crude aggregates (like GDP) nor dashboards of…

On measuring poverty & well-being – and the need for leadership from the G20: “If we want to shift the dial at the global level, we need international consensus and harmonisation”

– Jakob Dirksen in our latest blog post #LSEInequalitiesBlog @ophioxford.bsky.social

Congratulations! 🎊

INVEST Fellowship Programme - INVEST Research Flagship Centre What is an INVEST fellowship? INVEST fellowships are 1-3 (or up to 6) months visits to the flagship to collaborate...

Join INVEST as a Visiting Fellow! Our fellowship call is open 3.11.-28.11. Fellowships are designed for postdoctoral researchers and beyond who wish to spend time at the flagship, exchange ideas, and build new research collaborations.
Read more and apply
invest.utu.fi/fellowships/

Varför föds det så få barn – och vad kan samhället göra åt det?

📆 6 nov 2025, 13-14:30
🚩 Institutet för framtidsstudier/Zoom

Varför föds det så få barn?

Seminariet samlar forskare från Norge, Finland och Sverige. De kommer att ge sina perspektiv på läget och diskutera vilka politiska åtgärder – om några – som skulle kunna vända trenden.

Congratulations!!! 👏👏👏

Gender gaps and child poverty: Intra-household inequalities Global poverty measures rely on household data. But if we “open the front door” and look inside, we find large differences between men/women and adults/children

“Around a quarter of children counted as poor by our measure would be overlooked if poverty programs relied only on per capita household income”

–Ulugbek Aminjonov, Olivier Bargain & Maira Colacce on considering intra-household differences for poverty estimates #LSEInequalitiesBlog

👏👏👏

Happy World Statistics Day! 🎉📊

🔥 Final stretch! Apply to join #FIRE — Finland’s register-based research initiative — as a visiting researcher by Oct 22. 📊🚀

@utu.fi @stat.fi @aalto.fi #TampereUniversity @helsinki.fi @uniuef.bsky.social @uniofjyvaskyla.bsky.social @vatt-tutkimus.bsky.social

Congratulations!👏👏👏

Flashes Android Beta 🤖 Leave your email to be included in the beta test

Android people: if you want to be part of the beta test, please leave an email address here:

Do register-based research? 🔎 #FIRE Fellowships offer 1–2 month visits to Finland for postdocs & senior researchers.

Apply now 👉
fire-infra.com/en/fire-visi...

@utu.fi @stat.fi @aalto.fi #TampereUniversity @helsinki.fi @uniuef.bsky.social @uniofjyvaskyla.bsky.social @vatt-tutkimus.bsky.social