Introduction: improving upon the best

According to the economist and Nobel laureate James Heckman, investment in children produces a high return, benefiting not only the immediate family and child, but society as a whole (Center for High Impact Philanthropy 2015). In 1951 the future of Finland was predicted to be “grey and dreary”, but the Finns were tenacious (Sletholt 1951: 126). More importantly than that, they eventually chose the right route to trudge determinedly along.

Finland's postwar recovery and its capacity to establish itself as a serious country depended on the transformation of its (now world-renowned) education system. Alongside providing sufficient support for parents, good housing and high-quality healthcare, education is one of the most important investments in society that a government can make to ensure both the productivity and the well-being of future generations. Politicians such as former Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen of the National Coalition Party have emphasized the role of a highly educated society in promoting global competitiveness (Nygård 2015: 153–4). However, such aspirations may fall short if they are not accompanied by policies that also invest well in public services and education funding.

The frequency with which Finland is acclaimed as the best in the world for education does not mean that it cannot improve further, nor that some of its politicians won't squander that success in the future. Educational mobility is a measure of the degree to which the education system of a country increases or decreases the importance of parental finances and parental power in determining a child's future. Figure 4.1 shows the performance of countries in terms of the social mobility they have achieved and their levels of income inequality, with both factors shown to be influenced by levels of educational mobility within each country.