The diploma thesis deals with the affect of tax exemption as a structural element of personal income tax at the rate of taxation in the Nordic countries. The first part of the analysis consists of a comparison of the structure of personal income tax in selected countries and an analysis of exempt income, with a focus on social benefits. The final analysis includes calculation of the rate of taxation for several types of households and several levels of income. The results are then compared across selected countries.

The radical rise of global temperatures has put high pressure on the environment, leading to societal pressure towards politicians to reverse the trend. In light of this environmental crisis, economists all over the world agree that carbon taxes are the most cost-effective instrument for reducing carbon emissions. This study uses difference-in-differences analysis to examine the treatment effect of a carbon tax implementation in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Panel data from 24 OECD countries, between 1978 and 2004, is used throughout this study. This study has not found support that different levels of democracy and GDP per capita affect tax efficiency. Moreover, higher levels of urbanisation are seen to undermine the efficiency of a carbon tax, however, the result may be affected by confounding bias. Lastly, tax rate and tax coverage are both factors that seem to affect carbon tax efficiency.

Bakgrund: Nätmobbning har länge varit ett omfattande problem bland barn och ungdomar, särskilt i skolverksamheten. I och med den snabba utvecklingen av internet har mobbning börjat uttryckas i en ny domän, nämligen internet. Detta fenomen kallas för cybermobbning. Syfte: Syftet med följande uppsats är att undersöka upplevelsen av nätmobbning samt vilka strategier som finns för att bekämpa nätmobbning. Metod: För att besvara det som efterfrågas i uppsatsen har en litteraturstudie av kvalitativ ansats använts. Resultat: Resultatet visar att barn och ungdomar som utsatts för mobbning kan få bestående problem, både socialt och intellektuellt. Slutsats: Det främjande arbetet bör innehålla information om konsekvenserna av nätmobbning. Vuxna som är uppväxta under andra omständigheter där internet inte varit lika omfattande i vardagen bör även få en vidgad uppfattning av nätmobbning. / Background: Cyberbullying has long been a problem among children and young people and especially in school activities. With the rapid development of the internet, bullying has begun to be expressed in a new arena, namely the internet. This is often called cyberbullying. Purpose: The purpose of the following paper is to investigate the experience of cyberbullying and what possible strategies exist to combat cyberbullying. Method: To answer the purpose, a literature review with qualitative approach has been used. Results: The results show that children and young people who have been bullied can have lasting problems, both socially and intellectually. Conclusion: The conclusion that can be drawn from the following study is that the promotion work should include information on the consequences of cyberbullying. Adults who grew up in other circumstances where the internet has not been as extensive in everyday life should also have a broader perception of cyberbullying.

The education level has proven to be a good predictor of a range of important outcomes. However, despite substantial research, there are still areas to further explore and as far as the author is aware of, a study comparing education effects between different regions has not been conducted. The aim of this paper is to link previous theory and research and use it to examine effects of the education level on four different areas; politics, health and well-being, social trust and nationalism and immigration. Specifically, focus is on exploring potential differences regarding education effects between the Nordic countries and other countries in Europe. The study was conducted using a quantitative method by analyzing data from European Social Survey covering the period 2012–2016. By adding interaction terms to the regression models this study indicated that the education effects were robust, with higher education levels being associated with higher trust and political interest, better health and well-being, and with less political cynicism and less negative attitudes towards immigration. The study also identified that the education effects differ between the Nordics compared to other European countries. Analysis of the data showed that the education effects related to politics and nationalism and immigration were stronger in the Nordic countries compared to other countries in Europe. In contrast, education effects related to health and well-being and social trust were stronger in other countries in Europe compared to the Nordics.

In recent years, have the focus on Incels increased due to various deadly attacks that have been associated with extreme misogynistic content. This study aims to discuss current online prevention methods’ applicability with respect to Incels and to comprehend if online prevention methods can mitigate future attacks in Nordic countries. To provide knowledge of current online prevention methods a systematic literature review in accordance with the PRISMA was conducted. Several databases e.g., Google Scholar and PsycINFO were searched for articles published in peer-reviewed international journals. Ten articles which included online moderation measures regarding extremist content and Incels were admitted. Additionally, a non-systematic review was conducted in relation to reports regarding Incels published by Nordic organizations. Four reports were found. The Routine Activity Theory was then applied to the results from the papers found in the systematic and the non-systematic review. One limitation of the review is that only a few articles have been included which makes generalizability difficult. Numerous methods can be applied regarding Incels when it comes to online prevention measures. However, current methods seem to consist of a duplexity, where the moderation methods influence different SoMe platforms, but also create echo chambers on encrypted platforms where an increase of Incel radicalization materializes. To mitigate future attacks the use of proactive online prevention methods, e.g., detection tools and connectivity tools should be used by different platforms and law enforcement, as the capable guardian, to allocate imminent threats from Incels.

The period 2015-2020 has remained limitless in terms of missing data on crime and immigration in the Nordic countries, starting from the number of irregular and undocumented migrants and asylum seekers, continuing with the underrepresented immigrant statistics in crime. This paper consists of a complex understanding of immigration processes across the Nordic region, establishing narrow themes associated with crime and immigration. The findings of this paper presented five essential links to the criminality among the immigrant population in the Nordic countries during 2015-2020, that were compiled from the majority of the current available studies in this research field. At this point, the paper represents official data from the Nordic countries and a narrow literature review of recent studies, which depicted immigrants as more often suspected of crimes compared to the ethnic populations, assuming that it could have established a false social identity of an individual with foreign background. The reason of that supposition is explained by the findings on migrants to be overrepresented in crime, biased “immigrant beliefs” and yet evident immigrant labelling.

Researchers have dedicated considerable work to explaining components to excess stock market returns. Recently, Atanasov et al. (2020) managed to explain some of this variance in the US stock markets with a cyclical consumption variable. We have applied their model into the Nordic countries and compared it to a second model containing additional control variables. From the analysis, we find that cyclical consumption is able to explain excess stock market returns across five different h-quarter ahead excess returns. However, results are not consistent across countries. The extended model improves the explanatory capabilities of the model only up to two-year ahead excess returns. The cyclical consumption measure is also able to predict excess returns better than an historical average model. The findings in this paper are robust to out-of-sample predictability analysis and to a different measure of consumption and returns.

The following thesis deals with two primary matters. The first being the effort of Estonian politicians to change how Estonia's regional belonging is viewed by other countries before the admission into the European Union. These efforts can be illustrated by political actions whose aim was to create the image of Estonia as a Nordic country. These efforts slightly diminished after the admission into the European Union although on some levels they can be still observed. Despite close cooperation Estonia isn't adequate member of Nordic countries to this day. This thesis aspires to explain reasons for these action of Estonian politicians and why they were left off after the admission into EU. The second matter being the region of Nordic countries. Collective Nordic identity helped establish transnational cooperation among involved nations which represents one of the essential characteristics of a Nordic country. The emphasis is on historical context of Nordic identity and the development of Nordic cooperation from its initiation until current state. First the thesis introduces a theoretical insight into the region matters. Consequently it deals with the first matter, the efforts to redefine Estonia as a Nordic country, which is followed by analysis of the concept of a Nordic country and Nordic...

The Finnish legislation on legal gender recognition includes a prerequisite of being infertile. This practice not only differs from the legislation of the other Nordic countries but has also been found to be a violation of articles from human rights conventions. The practice has been found to be incompatible with the picture of Finland as a progressive Nordic country and it indeed creates an inconsistency between the regime of Nordic countries. The aim of the thesis is to analyze this problem from a governmental perspective and to find factors that could explain the difference between these countries. Theories of governmentality and governing gender will be applied in the analysis with the help of discourse analysis. From the perspective of the regime of Nordic countries, it is possible that the legislation in Finland would be developed into the same direction in the following years.

Tea is known worldwide for its unique taste and health benefits to the human body. Recent studies on tea have proven that many of its components have significant beneficial effects on the human body. The Nordic region has the highest well-being index globally but is also threatened by noncommunicable diseases, mental health, and an aging population. This master's thesis aims to investigate the tea drinking behavior and habits of the Nordic population and the Nordic population's perceptions and attitudes towards the relationship between tea drinking and health. Based on sociological theory, data were collected using standardized anonymous online questionnaires, and the data were analyzed by the social science software SPSS. This study showed that more than 80% of the participants enjoy and have a habit of drinking tea; the majority of the participants have a positive attitude towards the relationship between tea drinking and health, as well as more than half of the study participants agree that drinking tea is a healthy lifestyle. This study offers new ideas for optimizing the health of the Nordic population.