Origins and Opportunities in Sweden: The Implications of Rising Income Inequality for Educational Mobility

Research problemEducational mobility, or the extent to which children’s educational choices are affected by their family origins, is imperative for equality of opportunity and life chances of individuals.

However, while previous research has shown that increasing income inequality is associated with reduced income mobility across generations, the relationship to children’s educational mobility and outcomes is understudied.

Since disposable income inequality has been increasing in Sweden in the last decades and faster than in other OECD countries, the previously not studied question is whether prior levels of equality opportunity are at risk for younger generations in Sweden – and whether there are differences between social groups.

Hence, since education is central to children’s future life chances and labor market prospects, the project focuses on the implications of increasing disposable income inequality for children’s educational outcomes in Sweden.

Finally, the findings are contextualized by studying the trends in income inequality and educational mobility in a Scandinavian-U.S. comparative analysis.Data and methodThe primary data source is Swedish administrative and census data, which offers detailed insights into mobility variations at local levels covering cohorts born as late as the early 2000s.

The analyses use methods ranging from machine learning, econometric matching techniques, time series, and event methods.

For the comparative analysis, the project relies on Scandinavian register data and a multitude of high-quality U.S. surveys, employing a range of methods from both sociology and economics.Societal relevance and utilizationThe project offers insights into whether and how increasing income inequality spills over into disparities in future generations´ educational outcomes.

The evidence provided is instrumental to understanding the long-term challenges for the Swedish welfare state to provide equal opportunities for its citizens.

The results produce essential information for academic, public, and policy debates concerning the state of education, inequality, and equality of opportunity in Sweden.Plan for project realizationThe project will run for three years and is a collaborative effort with experienced international researchers from different fields with numerous high-impact academic publications.

The project is hosted at an outstanding multidisciplinary research institute, which will offer valuable perspectives on the research.