Household Production and Consumption in Finland 2001

In the period from 1990 to 2001, the share of labour in household production
has decreased and the share of fixed capital consumption has increased by a
couple of percentage points. This might suggest that households have invested
in machinery and equipment in order to reduce the amount of unpaid work.
The figures are not fully comparable, however. In 2001, the household capital
also included semi-durable goods, which in 1990 were placed under the
heading of intermediate consumption. There are also other differences in how
purchased products are divided between intermediate consumption, capital
goods and final consumption goods. In 1990, taxes and subsidies were not
taken into account. When the figures for 2001 are so revised that semi-durable
goods are added to intermediate consumption and the corresponding reduction
is made to the consumption of fixed capital, the share of intermediate
consumption rises to 22 per cent and the consumption of fixed capital drops
back to 3 per cent.
The structure of production is probably quite slow to change because novel
household appliances that radically reduce the amount of unpaid work do not
appear in the market very often. Examples of such appliances are the
automatic washing machine, which began to gain ground in the 1970s, and the
microwave oven some ten years later. Another factor contributing to the slow
pace of change is that people are slow to change their habits and routines.
Sometimes it may take a whole generation for new customs to develop. The
increasing use of purchased services might be the next major step towards a
reduced level of unpaid work. In 2001, such services still had only marginal
significance (Varjonen et al. 2005).
5.2 Household production by principal
function
Providing housing is the biggest single function in households. This may reflect
the need of solid housing in Finland’s harsh weather. Also, one in four
households have a summer cottage as secondary dwelling, many of which have
lately been equipped so that they can be used all year round
(Melasniemi-Uutela 2004). The second biggest function is the production of
meals and snacks. Clothing, care and volunteer work each amount to no more
than around one-fifth of production in the former two categories, and the care
of pets is the smallest function. Compared to 1980, the provision of meals and
snacks as a proportion of total household production has decreased, while the
share of housing has increased (Varjonen & Aalto 2005).
The total output of housing services is pushed up by the consumption of
fixed capital (depreciation of housing as well as home furnishings and
equipment) and intermediate consumption, a large proportion of which
consists of rents paid, repairs and heating. Care of children and adults seems to
account for a relatively modest part of total household production if
considered against the media attention it attracts. However, the true value of
care is greater than indicated by the figures shown here since only childcare
and care of adults reported as a primary activity are included. The inclusion of
care as a secondary activity would double the value of output. Moreover, the
care of elderly parents who live in their own households is defined as “helping
National Consumer Research Centre Statistics Finland 35