Educational assortative mating and inequality. Consequences of changing family dynamics in Sweden, 1970-2020

In 1980, income differences were historically small in Sweden, but have increased, nationally and regionally, since then. A similar trend is manifest for health differences. Sweden is not unique in this regard. Inequality has increased in most developed countries, making it a vital policy concern.

Much attention has been paid to increasing returns to capital and to education premia in the labor market as contributing to inequality.

Less attention has been paid to the marriage market, changing family dynamics and if more gender equal families contribute to societal inequality.

This project investigates the role of partnering for income and health, focusing on how family formation and gender equality contributed to inequalities in Sweden 1970-2020.

Specifically, we investigate to what extent educational assortative mating (EAM), i.e. sorting into couples where partners have the same level of education, increased and whether it relates to income and health inequality at the national and regional level.

We assess impacts of increasing education, female labor force participation and marital sorting (both direct and indirect through the interaction between EAM and family dynamics) for inequality in a country that for decades combined economic growth with equality along class and gender lines.

We apply a regional perspective, as there are increasing socioeconomic differences across regions, analyzing individual-level census and register data combined with regional macroeconomic indicators, using quantitative methods.

The project is highly relevant from an economic and social perspective, contributing to a better understanding of how changing family dynamics relate to income and health differences across the country.

It will improve our knowledge on if/why such differences increased, and where differentiation took place, both geographically and across income and health distributions. Results can inform policy designs for a healthier and more equal and inclusive society.