Economic and Socioeconomic Influences on Integration and Health in Immigrants to Sweden
(2025) In Lund University, Faculty of Medicine Doctoral Dissertation Series- Abstract
- Introduction: Economic and socioeconomic factors are key influences on a wide range of integration outcomes, including educational performance, the immigrant-native wage gap, susceptibility to sepsis, and the risk of developing drug use disorders. Understanding the interplay of these factors is important for developing policies that enhance immigrants’ integration.
Aim: The thesis consists of four studies. The first study examines the effects of initial neighborhood socioeconomic status on school grades in 9th grade. The second study examines the impact of personality traits on the immigrant-native wage gap in Sweden. The third study examines how sociodemographic factors, including region of origin, influence the incidence of sepsis.... (More) - Introduction: Economic and socioeconomic factors are key influences on a wide range of integration outcomes, including educational performance, the immigrant-native wage gap, susceptibility to sepsis, and the risk of developing drug use disorders. Understanding the interplay of these factors is important for developing policies that enhance immigrants’ integration.
Aim: The thesis consists of four studies. The first study examines the effects of initial neighborhood socioeconomic status on school grades in 9th grade. The second study examines the impact of personality traits on the immigrant-native wage gap in Sweden. The third study examines how sociodemographic factors, including region of origin, influence the incidence of sepsis. The fourth study examines the relationship between
school grades in 9th grade and the risk of subsequent drug use disorder and investigates whether this association differs by parental immigrant background and sex.
Material and methods: The analyses in the studies are based on Swedish national administrative registers. These registers contain information on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics as well health care
usage. Quasi-experimental methods, Oaxaca-Blinder-decomposition, sibling analysis, and a variety of econometrics and statistical techniques were used in the studies.
Results: The findings show that the initial socioeconomic status of a neighborhood impacts school grades. Personality traits impact wages and influence the immigrant-native wage gap, which suggests that similar traits are differently remunerated in the labor market. The risk of sepsis varies across sociodemographic factors, but after adjusting for other covariates, it was not strongly linked to country of origin. However, men from Africa were less influenced by their country of origin compared to African women, highlighting sex disparities in health outcomes between immigrants. Finally, low school grades are associated with a higher risk of developing drug
use disorder, with sibling comparisons suggesting a causal relationship. Furthermore, males with foreign-born parents had twice the risk of drug use disorder compared to those with Swedish-born parents, which was a pattern not observed among females, thus suggesting gender differences in the role of parental immigrant
background.
Conclusion: This dissertation shows how neighborhood socioeconomic status, personality traits, and demographic factors influence educational performances, the immigrant-native wage gap, and health-related outcomes – and thereby the integration trajectory of immigrants. The results highlight the need for tailored
interventions to address: 1) the impact of neighborhood effects on vulnerable groups, such as immigrant students in deprived neighborhoods, 2) labor market discrimination, 3) health disparities, and 4) drug use disorder. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/235efade-9ed8-43d1-b3ed-d4447c09729d
- author
- Pello-Esso, Wazah LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Professor Eriksson, Charli, Karolinska Institutet
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Neighborhood effect, Immigrant-native wage gap, Personality Traits, Sepsis, Risk factors, School achievement, Drug use disorder
- in
- Lund University, Faculty of Medicine Doctoral Dissertation Series
- issue
- 2025:71
- pages
- 98 pages
- publisher
- Lund University, Faculty of Medicine
- defense location
- Agardh föreläsningssal, CRC, Jan Waldenströms gata 35, Skånes Universitetssjukhus i Malmö
- defense date
- 2025-06-13 13:15:00
- ISSN
- 1652-8220
- ISBN
- 978-91-8021-724-8
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 235efade-9ed8-43d1-b3ed-d4447c09729d
- date added to LUP
- 2025-05-23 11:26:32
- date last changed
- 2025-06-16 08:32:16
@phdthesis{235efade-9ed8-43d1-b3ed-d4447c09729d,
abstract = {{Introduction: Economic and socioeconomic factors are key influences on a wide range of integration outcomes, including educational performance, the immigrant-native wage gap, susceptibility to sepsis, and the risk of developing drug use disorders. Understanding the interplay of these factors is important for developing policies that enhance immigrants’ integration.<br/>Aim: The thesis consists of four studies. The first study examines the effects of initial neighborhood socioeconomic status on school grades in 9th grade. The second study examines the impact of personality traits on the immigrant-native wage gap in Sweden. The third study examines how sociodemographic factors, including region of origin, influence the incidence of sepsis. The fourth study examines the relationship between<br/>school grades in 9th grade and the risk of subsequent drug use disorder and investigates whether this association differs by parental immigrant background and sex.<br/>Material and methods: The analyses in the studies are based on Swedish national administrative registers. These registers contain information on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics as well health care<br/>usage. Quasi-experimental methods, Oaxaca-Blinder-decomposition, sibling analysis, and a variety of econometrics and statistical techniques were used in the studies.<br/>Results: The findings show that the initial socioeconomic status of a neighborhood impacts school grades. Personality traits impact wages and influence the immigrant-native wage gap, which suggests that similar traits are differently remunerated in the labor market. The risk of sepsis varies across sociodemographic factors, but after adjusting for other covariates, it was not strongly linked to country of origin. However, men from Africa were less influenced by their country of origin compared to African women, highlighting sex disparities in health outcomes between immigrants. Finally, low school grades are associated with a higher risk of developing drug<br/>use disorder, with sibling comparisons suggesting a causal relationship. Furthermore, males with foreign-born parents had twice the risk of drug use disorder compared to those with Swedish-born parents, which was a pattern not observed among females, thus suggesting gender differences in the role of parental immigrant<br/>background.<br/>Conclusion: This dissertation shows how neighborhood socioeconomic status, personality traits, and demographic factors influence educational performances, the immigrant-native wage gap, and health-related outcomes – and thereby the integration trajectory of immigrants. The results highlight the need for tailored<br/>interventions to address: 1) the impact of neighborhood effects on vulnerable groups, such as immigrant students in deprived neighborhoods, 2) labor market discrimination, 3) health disparities, and 4) drug use disorder.}},
author = {{Pello-Esso, Wazah}},
isbn = {{978-91-8021-724-8}},
issn = {{1652-8220}},
keywords = {{Neighborhood effect; Immigrant-native wage gap; Personality Traits; Sepsis; Risk factors; School achievement; Drug use disorder}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2025:71}},
publisher = {{Lund University, Faculty of Medicine}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Lund University, Faculty of Medicine Doctoral Dissertation Series}},
title = {{Economic and Socioeconomic Influences on Integration and Health in Immigrants to Sweden}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/219792537/e-spik_ex_Wazah_LU.pdf}},
year = {{2025}},
}