This paper presents a critical assessment of the public debate on income and wealth inequality in Sweden. The authors scrutinize ten often-heard claims in the debate by contrasting them against facts in available databases and results in the research literature. The paper also addresses specific measurement problems in the Swedish income statistics and suggests possible … Read more
Facts and Myths in the Popular Debate about Inequality in Sweden
Hur viktig är familjebakgrunden för ekonomiska utfall? En jämförelse av fyra ansatser
Artikeln granskar fyra ansatser att studera familjebakgrundens betydelse för de ekonomiska utfallen inkomst och utbildningsår. Föräldrars och barns inkomster och utbildning samvarierar positivt, men sambanden förklarar bara en liten del av variationen i ekonomiska utfall och är i liten utsträckning kausala. Den starka kopplingen mellan syskons utfall ger däremot skäl att tro att familjebakgrunden, i … Read more
Intergenerational mobility, intergenerational effects, sibling correlations, and equality of opportunity: A comparison of four approaches
This paper compares four different ways of researching how family background affects our educational attainment and earnings: looking at intergenerational mobility; looking at how interventions with parents can affect offspring – the ‘intergenerational effects’ approach – looking at what share of inequality is shared by siblings – ‘sibling correlations’ – and looking for factors which … Read more
Can We Really Rely on Income Distribution Statistics? Some Issues in the Swedish Data
The Swedish Income Distribution Statistics have shown rising gaps in disposable income since the early 1980s. Several reports have shown that capital income is an important driver behind this development. I identify several weaknesses in the measurement of capital income in these statistics. One weakness is that realised capital gains, which generally are included in … Read more
Intergenerational mobility, intergenerational effects, sibling correlations, and equality of opportunity: a comparison of four approaches
This paper compares four different ways of researching how family background affects our educational attainment and earnings: looking at intergenerational mobility; looking at how interventions with parents can affect offspring – the ‘intergenerational effects’ approach – looking at what share of inequality is shared by siblings – ‘sibling correlations’ – and looking for factors which … Read more