Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP16595
Authors: Thor Berger; Per Engzell; Björn Eriksson; Jakob Molinder
Abstract: We use historical census data to show that Sweden exhibited high levels of intergenerational occupational mobility several decades before the rise of the welfare state. Mobility rates were higher than in other 19th- and 20th-century European countries, closer to those observed in the highly mobile 19th-century United States. We leverage mobility variation across Swedish municipalities to shed light on potential determinants: economic growth and migration are positively correlated with mobility, consistent with the patterns observed across countries.
Keywords: intergenerational mobility; sweden; welfare state
JEL Codes: J62; J61; N33; N34
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| economic growth (O49) | intergenerational occupational mobility (J62) |
| migration (F22) | intergenerational occupational mobility (J62) |
| economic growth (O49) | migration (F22) |
| migration (F22) | economic growth (O49) |
| local economic conditions (R11) | intergenerational occupational mobility (J62) |
| sons of migrant families (J82) | intergenerational occupational mobility (J62) |