Publications

For full list of publications, visit my Google Scholar profile or Orcid profile

Scientific articles

• Kärkkäinen, S., Laaksonen, J., Mesiäislehto, M. & Saikku, P. (2025) Labour market trajectory clusters and utilisation of healthcare and benefits among the long-term unemployed: a Finnish population-based study. BMC Public Health 25, 3052
• Guarin, Á., Mesiäislehto, M., Hakovirta, M. & Costanzo, M. (2025) Single mothers and child support in extended-family households: insights from six Latin American countries. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society.
• Välimäki Sanni, Lammi-Taskula Johanna, Mesiäislehto Merita & Närvi Johanna (2024) Growing inequality and diverging paths in early childhood education and care: Educational disparities in Europe. International Journal of Comparative Social Policy
• Nenning, Larissa, Bridgen, Paul, Zimmermann, Katharina, Büchs, Milena, & Mesiäislehto, Merita (2023) Climate Crisis and Social Protection – From Worker Protection to Post-growth Transformation? Social Policy and Society, 1-20. 
• van Gerven, Minna, Malava, Tuuli, Saikku, Peppi & Mesiäislehto, Merita (2023) Towards a new era in the governance of integrated activation: A systematic review of the literature on the governance of welfare benefits and employment-related services in Europe (2010–21). Social Policy & Administration, 1–15.
• Elomäki, Anna & Mesiäislehto, Merita (2022) The COVID-19 crisis and gender equality in Finland. Finnish Journal of Social Research 15.
• Mesiäislehto, Merita, Moisio, Pasi & Ilmakunnas, Ilari (2022) Do Red-Flagged Clients Exit Social Assistance Earlier than Others? The Case of the Finnish Social Assistance System. Social Policy & Society.  
• Tervola, Jussi, Mesiäislehto, Merita & Ollonqvist, Joonas (2022) Smaller net or just fewer to catch? Disentangling the causes for the varying sizes of minimum income schemes. International Journal of Social Welfare.
• Mesiäislehto, Merita, Näre, Lena & Wide, Elisabeth (2022) Kotitaloustyön poliittinen talous ja moninaisen eriarvoisuuden muodot. Poliittinen talous, 10.  
• Kärkkäinen, Sanna, Mesiäislehto, Merita, Sirniö, Outi, Karvonen, Sakari, & Kauppinen, Timo (2022) The role of social transfers in mitigating families with children from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Social Welfare, 1– 17. 
• Mesiäislehto, Merita, Kivipelto, Minna & Ylikännö, Minna (2022) Social assistance beneficiaries’ access to social services in a digitalised social assistance system. Sozialer Fortschritt 71(6/7).
• Mesiäislehto, Merita, Jauhiainen, Signe, Korpela, Tuija and Tuori, Sami. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment and social benefit receipt in Finland. Zeitschrift für Sozialreform, vol. 68, no. 1, 2022, pp. 7-27.  
• Hakovirta, Mia & Mesiäislehto, Merita (2022) Lone mothers and child support receipt in 21 European countries. Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy 38(1). 
• Mesiäislehto, Merita, Kivipelto, Mia & Hiilamo, Heikki (2021) Social workers’ perceptions on clients’ service needs and social work practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Comparative Social Work, 16(2), 9-35.
• Hakovirta, Mia, Skinner Christine, Hiilamo, Heikki & Jokela, Merita (2020) Child poverty, child maintenance payments and interactions with social assistance benefits among lone parent families: a comparative analysis. Journal of Social Policy 49(1): 19-39
• Hakovirta, Mia & Jokela, Merita (2019) Contribution of child maintenance on lone mothers’ income in five welfare states. Journal of European Social Policy 29(2): 257-272.
• Cuesta, Laura, Hakovirta, Mia & Jokela, Merita (2018) The antipoverty effectiveness of child support: Empirical evidence for Latin American countries. Social Policy & Administration 52(6):1233-1251.
• Jokela, Merita (2019) Patterns of Precarious Employment in a Female-Dominated Sector in Five Welfare States—The Case of Paid Domestic Labor Sector. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, Volume 26, Issue 1, Spring 2019: 30–58.
• Blofield, Merike & Jokela, Merita (2018) Paid domestic work and the struggles of care workers in Latin America. Current Sociology 66(4): 531–546.
• Jokela, Merita (2017) The role of domestic employment policies in shaping precarious work. Social Policy & Administration 51(2):286-307.
• Jokela, Merita (2015) Macro-level determinants of paid domestic labour prevalence: A cross-national analysis of 74 countries. Social Policy and Society 14(3): 385-405.

Working papers and project reports 

• Højbjerre, A., Jakobsen, V., Thuesen, F., Witt Rosenberg, A., Lang Thomsen, R., Stubkjær, L., Celine Hardonk, S., Einarsdóttir, M., Korpi, T., Saikku, P. & Mesiäislehto, M. (2025) Increasing employment among vulnerable groups: summary of insights and recommendations for the Nordic countries[København]: Nordiska ministerrådet.
• Välimäki Sanni, Lammi-Taskula Johanna, Mesiäislehto Merita & Närvi Johanna (2024) Growing inequality and diverging paths in early childhood education and care: Educational disparities in Europe. INVEST working paper 87/2024 & FLUX working paper 16/2024.
• Rotko, Tuulia, Mesiäislehto, Merita & Sahrio, Anne (eds) (2024) Proposals for measures to promote health and wellbeing. Reports and Memorandums of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health 2024:19.
• Guarin, Angela, Mesiäislehto, Merita, Hakovirta, Mia & Constanzo, Molly (2023) Single Mothers and Child Support in Extended-Family Households: an International Perspective. LIS Working paper series No. 868.
• Mesiäislehto, Merita (2022) The gendered effects of the COVID-19 crisis in Finland. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
• Mesiäislehto, Merita, Elomäki, Anna, Närvi, Johanna, Simanainen, Miska, Sutela, Hanna & Räsänen, Tapio (2022) The gendered impacts of the Covid-19 crisis in Finland and the effectiveness of the policy responses. Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). Discussion paper 2/2022.
• Kestilä, Laura, Kapiainen, Satu, Mesiäislehto, Merita & Rissanen, Pekka (eds) (2022) Effects of the COVID19-epidemic on well-being, the service system, and the national economy: Expert evaluation. Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, THL Report 4/2022 (includes a summary in English)
• van Gerven, Minna, Mesiäislehto, Merita, Ollonqvist, Joonas, Malava, Tuuli, Netta, Tuominen, Saikku, Peppi (2022)  Eri poluilla työllisyyteen : Suomen sosiaaliturvajärjestelmän erityispiirteet ja ongelmakohdat kansainvälisessä vertailussa. Valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimustoiminnan julkaisusarja 2022:51. Helsinki: Valtioneuvoston kanslia.
• Boris, Eileen, Jokela, Merita, Unden, Meghan (2015) Enforcement Strategies for Empowerment:  Models for the California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. An Informational Policy Report. IRLE Research and Policy Briefs No. 30 

Book chapters

• Mesiäislehto, Merita, Salin, Milla & Hakovirta, Mia (2025) Gender, family policies and the gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland. In: Sirin Sung (ed.) Gender, family and policy: International perspectives. Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Marchetti, Sabrina & Mesiäislehto, Merita (2023) Migrants in Europe’s Domestic and Care Sector: The Institutional Response. In: Mignon Duffy, Amy Armenia, Kim Price-Glynn. From Crisis to Catastrophe: Care, Covid, and Pathways to Change. Rutgers University Press.
• Van Gerven, Minna, Malava, Tuuli, Mesiäislehto, Merita & Saikku, Peppi (2022). Different pathways to employment (POLKU). In: Linda Hantrais (ed.) How to Manage International Multidisciplinary Research Projects. Elgar Online. Pp. 150-161.
• Jokela, Merita (2020) Examining the role of institutions in shaping migrant reproductive labour. In: Aart-Jan Riekhoff and Nicol Savinetti (eds): Shaping and Re-Shaping the Boundaries of Working Life. Tampere University Press
• Kivipelto, Minna, Jokela, Merita, Blomgren, Sanna & Perlinski, Marek (2020) Social sustainability and the organization of social work from the perspective of Finnish adult social work practitioners. In: Hänninen, Sakari, Lehtelä, Kirsi-Maria and Saikkonen Paula (eds): The Relational Nordic Welfare State: Between Utopia and Ideology. Edward Elgar Publishing

PhD thesis

Jokela, Merita (2018) The layers of inequality in paid domestic labour: a global study on domestic workers and precarious work.