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Social mobility and fertility: Applying diagonal reference models in historical studies (Sweden, 1870–2015)

Brea-Martinez, Gabriel LU and Dribe, Martin LU (2025) In Historical Methods 58(2). p.111-111
Abstract
Theoretically there are good reasons to expect social mobility to have an effect on fertility. The problem is how to assess such an effect empirically, as social mobility is a function of both social origin and destination. This paper presents the Diagonal Reference Model (DRM) as a valuable historical method to study social mobility consequences. We use Swedish individual-level longitudinal data with intergenerational links covering the period 1905 to 2015 for cohorts born as early as 1870. We apply DRM to test hypotheses about the association between social mobility and fertility net of social origin and social attainment. The results show a constant but small negative association between upward social mobility and fertility. This... (More)
Theoretically there are good reasons to expect social mobility to have an effect on fertility. The problem is how to assess such an effect empirically, as social mobility is a function of both social origin and destination. This paper presents the Diagonal Reference Model (DRM) as a valuable historical method to study social mobility consequences. We use Swedish individual-level longitudinal data with intergenerational links covering the period 1905 to 2015 for cohorts born as early as 1870. We apply DRM to test hypotheses about the association between social mobility and fertility net of social origin and social attainment. The results show a constant but small negative association between upward social mobility and fertility. This relationship was most pronounced in the oldest cohorts, suggesting the need for more research on social mobility effects in historical settings with DRMs. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Diagonal reference models, mobility contrast models, social mobility, fertility
in
Historical Methods
volume
58
issue
2
pages
122 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85216646696
ISSN
0161-5440
DOI
10.1080/01615440.2025.2451058
project
The long reach of the neighborhood: Health, education and earnings in Landskrona, Sweden, 1904-2015
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b928df11-ae90-4be2-a446-367da54bc7ed
date added to LUP
2025-02-01 14:57:05
date last changed
2025-06-05 10:26:26
@article{b928df11-ae90-4be2-a446-367da54bc7ed,
  abstract     = {{Theoretically there are good reasons to expect social mobility to have an effect on fertility. The problem is how to assess such an effect empirically, as social mobility is a function of both social origin and destination. This paper presents the Diagonal Reference Model (DRM) as a valuable historical method to study social mobility consequences. We use Swedish individual-level longitudinal data with intergenerational links covering the period 1905 to 2015 for cohorts born as early as 1870. We apply DRM to test hypotheses about the association between social mobility and fertility net of social origin and social attainment. The results show a constant but small negative association between upward social mobility and fertility. This relationship was most pronounced in the oldest cohorts, suggesting the need for more research on social mobility effects in historical settings with DRMs.}},
  author       = {{Brea-Martinez, Gabriel and Dribe, Martin}},
  issn         = {{0161-5440}},
  keywords     = {{Diagonal reference models; mobility contrast models; social mobility; fertility}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{111--111}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Historical Methods}},
  title        = {{Social mobility and fertility: Applying diagonal reference models in historical studies (Sweden, 1870–2015)}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01615440.2025.2451058}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/01615440.2025.2451058}},
  volume       = {{58}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}