This paper uses Norwegian register data to examine the story behind income growth and people living longer in Norway over the last 70 years at both a municipal and individual level. It finds that the large gap in infant deaths between poorer and richer parts of the country largely closed in the late 1960s. However … Read more
Income Inequality and Mortality: A Norwegian Perspective
Grandparents, moms, or dads? Why children of teen mothers do worse in life
We explore whether and why children born to teen mothers have worse outcomes later in life. Using Norwegian register data, we compare outcomes of children of sisters who have first births at different ages. We find that the causal effect of being a child of a teen mother is much smaller than that implied by … Read more
The stratification of education systems and social background inequality of educational opportunity
This study asks two questions about the relationship between academic selection and social inequality: does increasing selection lead to a deeper social divide in education? And does postponing the age at which academic selection takes place help mitigate that inequality? The research uses data from the European Social Survey. It focuses on individuals born between … Read more
DIAL Policy Brief No. 2 ‘Towards a socially mobile Europe: What can policymakers learn from Dynamics of Inequality Across the Life-course (DIAL) research?’
There are a number of key European policy agendas related to social mobility on which the DIAL research can shed light. This policy brief gives an overview of findings from DIAL projects in this area. Key findings: Educational opportunity is the most powerful tool in improving the life chances of those born into disadvantaged families. … Read more
Socioeconomic Background and Gene–Environment Interplay in Social Stratification across the Early Life Course
This study finds that genetic inheritance has more influence than the shared social environment alone in perpetuating social inequalities. However, the importance of genes varies according family environment: genetic influences are stronger among those growing up in the most advantaged families. The researchers studied 6,500 pairs of twins born in Finland between 1975 and 1986. They used … Read more
Parenting Behaviours and Early Child Development in Europe
Social inequality related to children’s development starts early in life. Parenting behaviour as an explanatory factor has important effects on very young children’s verbal and behavior social skills, and on later school achievements.
The association between mother’s education level and early child language skills; findings from three European cohort studies
The development of language skills during the early years of a child’s life are vital for school readiness, educational attainment, and later life outcomes. The socio-economic background of parents, as measured by occupation, income, and level of education, have been found to significantly affect child language skills and the differences we see between children.
Father’s occupation, children’s vocabulary, and whether changing occupation creates social mobility in the UK
In the UK the issue of social mobility, the link between a person’s life outcomes and that of their parents, has been of concern since the 1970s. Despite many interventions and policy initiatives this link has become “entrenched” with those who are born into low-income families taking on average 5 generations to reach the mean … Read more
The Intergenerational Elasticity of Earnings: Exploring the Mechanisms
Rich parents have rich children. Why is that? This paper evaluates several different potential channels that might explain the persistence in earnings between parents and children. In particular, the researchers study the relative importance of differences in years of schooling, cognitive skills, parental investments, and family background. To do so, they use a cohort born … Read more
The association of maternal education on children’s language skills and its link to social inequality, descriptive analysis from three European cohort studies
Social inequality is a persistent global issue which many countries, governments, and policymakers aim to address. The development of language and communication skills during the early years of a child’s life are vital for school readiness, educational success, and later life outcomes. As part of a collaborative research project we sought to bring together data … Read more