Class Pay Gaps and the Role of Childhood Neighborhood Exposure 1939-2015
Brea-Martinez, Gabriel LU and Hedefalk, Finn LU
(2026)
In Lund Papers in Economic Demography
- Abstract
- This paper examines whether high levels of intergenerational class mobility in twentieth-
century Sweden eliminated class-origin income inequalities within adult occupational
destinations, and whether childhood neighborhood exposure moderated these inequalities.
Using longitudinal population-register, income, occupation, and geocoded residential data, the
study follows individuals born between 1922 and 1966 who were observed as children in
Landskrona, Sweden, from 1939 to 1967 and followed nationally into adulthood until 2015.
Class pay gaps are measured as differences in the probability of reaching the top income quartile
within one’s adult destination class, birth year, and sex. The analysis shows that... (More) - This paper examines whether high levels of intergenerational class mobility in twentieth-
century Sweden eliminated class-origin income inequalities within adult occupational
destinations, and whether childhood neighborhood exposure moderated these inequalities.
Using longitudinal population-register, income, occupation, and geocoded residential data, the
study follows individuals born between 1922 and 1966 who were observed as children in
Landskrona, Sweden, from 1939 to 1967 and followed nationally into adulthood until 2015.
Class pay gaps are measured as differences in the probability of reaching the top income quartile
within one’s adult destination class, birth year, and sex. The analysis shows that extensive
occupational mobility did not translate into equal economic returns. Individuals from less
advantaged class origins, especially upwardly mobile men, were less likely than those from
higher white-collar origins to attain top-quartile income within the same adult class destination.
The study also finds that childhood exposure to higher white-collar same-age peers was
positively associated with top-quartile income attainment among men, particularly among those
from skilled-worker and lower-skilled-worker backgrounds who later reached higher white-
collar occupations. In contrast, exposure to unskilled-worker peers showed no consistent
independent association. These findings suggest that social mobility and equality of opportunity
should not be treated as equivalent. Even in a historically egalitarian welfare-state context,
class-origin advantages persisted after occupational mobility occurred. The paper contributes
to research on intergenerational mobility, class pay gaps, and neighborhood effects by showing
how childhood social environments may shape the conversion of occupational attainment into
adult economic advantage. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3fb44164-c5e6-49ed-a3a1-2f0db5638848
- author
- Brea-Martinez, Gabriel
LU
and Hedefalk, Finn
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026
- type
- Working paper/Preprint
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- class pay gap, intergenerational mobility, neighborhood exposure, social class, Sweden
- in
- Lund Papers in Economic Demography
- issue
- 2026:2
- pages
- 39 pages
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 3fb44164-c5e6-49ed-a3a1-2f0db5638848
- alternative location
- https://www.lusem.lu.se/sites/lusem.lu.se/files/2026-05/LPED_2026_2.pdf
- date added to LUP
- 2026-05-12 15:17:43
- date last changed
- 2026-05-12 15:17:43
@misc{3fb44164-c5e6-49ed-a3a1-2f0db5638848,
abstract = {{This paper examines whether high levels of intergenerational class mobility in twentieth-<br/>century Sweden eliminated class-origin income inequalities within adult occupational<br/>destinations, and whether childhood neighborhood exposure moderated these inequalities.<br/>Using longitudinal population-register, income, occupation, and geocoded residential data, the<br/>study follows individuals born between 1922 and 1966 who were observed as children in<br/>Landskrona, Sweden, from 1939 to 1967 and followed nationally into adulthood until 2015.<br/>Class pay gaps are measured as differences in the probability of reaching the top income quartile<br/>within one’s adult destination class, birth year, and sex. The analysis shows that extensive<br/>occupational mobility did not translate into equal economic returns. Individuals from less<br/>advantaged class origins, especially upwardly mobile men, were less likely than those from<br/>higher white-collar origins to attain top-quartile income within the same adult class destination.<br/>The study also finds that childhood exposure to higher white-collar same-age peers was<br/>positively associated with top-quartile income attainment among men, particularly among those<br/>from skilled-worker and lower-skilled-worker backgrounds who later reached higher white-<br/>collar occupations. In contrast, exposure to unskilled-worker peers showed no consistent<br/>independent association. These findings suggest that social mobility and equality of opportunity<br/>should not be treated as equivalent. Even in a historically egalitarian welfare-state context,<br/>class-origin advantages persisted after occupational mobility occurred. The paper contributes<br/>to research on intergenerational mobility, class pay gaps, and neighborhood effects by showing<br/>how childhood social environments may shape the conversion of occupational attainment into<br/>adult economic advantage.}},
author = {{Brea-Martinez, Gabriel and Hedefalk, Finn}},
keywords = {{class pay gap; intergenerational mobility; neighborhood exposure; social class; Sweden}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Working Paper}},
number = {{2026:2}},
series = {{Lund Papers in Economic Demography}},
title = {{Class Pay Gaps and the Role of Childhood Neighborhood Exposure 1939-2015}},
url = {{https://www.lusem.lu.se/sites/lusem.lu.se/files/2026-05/LPED_2026_2.pdf}},
year = {{2026}},
}