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The price of poverty: The association between childhood poverty and adult income and education in Sweden, 1947–2015

Brea-Martinez, Gabriel LU ; Dribe, Martin LU and Stanfors, Maria LU (2023) In Economic History Review 76(4). p.1281-1304
Abstract
Childhood poverty increases the likelihood of being poor as an adult. We know relatively little about this persistence of poverty in the past and whether it changed as modern welfare societies developed. This study both analyses determinants of childhood poverty and assesses the association between childhood poverty and economic outcomes in adulthood for men and women who grew up in southern Sweden, and who were followed to adulthood regardless of where in Sweden they resided. Poverty is measured in relative terms. Being raised by a single mother, foreign origin, and being raised in a context where the household head was not employed were important risk factors for childhood poverty. Growing up in relative poverty was in turn associated... (More)
Childhood poverty increases the likelihood of being poor as an adult. We know relatively little about this persistence of poverty in the past and whether it changed as modern welfare societies developed. This study both analyses determinants of childhood poverty and assesses the association between childhood poverty and economic outcomes in adulthood for men and women who grew up in southern Sweden, and who were followed to adulthood regardless of where in Sweden they resided. Poverty is measured in relative terms. Being raised by a single mother, foreign origin, and being raised in a context where the household head was not employed were important risk factors for childhood poverty. Growing up in relative poverty was in turn associated with low income and education in adulthood. Both the persistence and intensity of childhood poverty mattered, and so did the age during which poverty was experienced. Patterns were similar for men and women, and there was no consistent change over time as the Swedish welfare state expanded. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
childhood, intergenerational transmission, poverty, Sweden, twenti-eth century
in
Economic History Review
volume
76
issue
4
pages
1281 - 1304
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85147129094
ISSN
1468-0289
DOI
10.1111/ehr.13244
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b36cd46e-9f1e-47c7-ab50-44d6bdea62da
date added to LUP
2023-02-01 10:45:05
date last changed
2023-10-05 11:41:31
@article{b36cd46e-9f1e-47c7-ab50-44d6bdea62da,
  abstract     = {{Childhood poverty increases the likelihood of being poor as an adult. We know relatively little about this persistence of poverty in the past and whether it changed as modern welfare societies developed. This study both analyses determinants of childhood poverty and assesses the association between childhood poverty and economic outcomes in adulthood for men and women who grew up in southern Sweden, and who were followed to adulthood regardless of where in Sweden they resided. Poverty is measured in relative terms. Being raised by a single mother, foreign origin, and being raised in a context where the household head was not employed were important risk factors for childhood poverty. Growing up in relative poverty was in turn associated with low income and education in adulthood. Both the persistence and intensity of childhood poverty mattered, and so did the age during which poverty was experienced. Patterns were similar for men and women, and there was no consistent change over time as the Swedish welfare state expanded.}},
  author       = {{Brea-Martinez, Gabriel and Dribe, Martin and Stanfors, Maria}},
  issn         = {{1468-0289}},
  keywords     = {{childhood; intergenerational transmission; poverty; Sweden; twenti-eth century}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{1281--1304}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Economic History Review}},
  title        = {{The price of poverty: The association between childhood poverty and adult income and education in Sweden, 1947–2015}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13244}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/ehr.13244}},
  volume       = {{76}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}