Research

Abstract: While divorce laws are known to influence family behavior, empirical evidence of their effects on children remains scarce. I shed more light on this by evaluating a 6-month parental reconsideration period for divorce, which was implemented during the Swedish divorce law reform of 1974. I exploit quasi-experimental policy variation and population-wide register data on 1.17 million Swedish children born 1952–1964 to evaluate the implications of family stability on children's long-term human capital outcomes. I find that families with more years of exposure to this divorce restriction are 18.8% less likely to divorce. The children with greater exposure are also 1.8% more likely to graduate from upper secondary school, and exhibit higher rates of marriage and lower rates of divorce in adulthood. The findings highlight a trade-off between parental freedom of choice related to divorce and externalities on children's outcomes.

Abstract: To reduce the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), most countries closed schools, despite uncertainty if school closures are an effective containment measure. At the onset of the pandemic, Swedish upper-secondary schools moved to online instruction, while lower-secondary schools remained open. This allows for a comparison of parents and teachers differently exposed to open and closed schools, but otherwise facing similar conditions. Leveraging rich Swedish register data, we connect all students and teachers in Sweden to their families and study the impact of moving to online instruction on the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. We find that, among parents, exposure to open rather than closed schools resulted in a small increase in PCR-confirmed infections (odds ratio [OR] 1.17; 95% CI [CI95] 1.03 to 1.32). Among lower-secondary teachers, the infection rate doubled relative to upper-secondary teachers (OR2.01; CI95 1.52 to 2.67). This spilled over to the partners of lower-secondary teachers, who had a higher infection rate than their upper-secondary counterparts (OR 1.29; CI95 1.00 to 1.67). When analyzing COVID-19 diagnoses from healthcare visits and the incidence of severe health outcomes, results are similar for teachers, but weaker for parents and teachers’ partners. The results for parents indicate that keeping lower-secondary schools open had minor consequences for the overall transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in society. The results for teachers suggest that measures to protect teachers could be considered.

Abstract: We study how students adjust their early career choices in response to economic crises, and how this behavioral response affects their long-run labor market outcomes. We specifically examine the the severe recession that struck Sweden in the early 1990s, which disproportionally affected the manufacturing and construction sectors. We find that students who experienced paternal job loss in these heavily affected sectors were more likely to choose high school programs linked to sectors less impacted by the recession. As a result, these individuals achieved better labor market outcomes in adulthood, including higher employment rates and career earnings. Our findings are consistent with informational frictions being a key obstacle to structural change, and we identify career choice as an important mechanism through which recessions reshape labor markets in the very long run. 

Abstract: Although water fluoridation is widely implemented to promote dental health, causal evidence of its broader developmental effects remains limited. This study exploits a water fluoridation experiment in Norrköping, Sweden (1952–1962), to investigate the long-term effects of exposure to fluoride during childhood on human capital outcomes. The results show that early-life exposure to fluoridated water is associated with reduced non-cognitive ability at age 18 and a lower likelihood of high school graduation. There is also suggestive evidence of adverse effects on cognitive ability. These findings highlight the need for careful reassessment of what constitutes safe fluoride levels in public water supplies.

Abstract: Divorce rates have risen markedly since the mid-20th century, yet our understanding of how this shift impacts children remains limited. This study investigates how the effect of parental divorce on educational attainment has changed across generations for cohorts born between 1951 and 1999. Leveraging detailed Swedish register data and employing sibling fixed effects estimations, I find that experiencing divorce during childhood is associated with a decrease in the likelihood of graduating from high school and attending university. These adverse effects have intensified significantly for cohorts born from the mid-1970s and onward, contrasting with weaker or insignificant effects for children born in the 1950s and 1960s. An analysis of mechanisms rules out several key potential reasons and provides suggestive evidence that the intensified effects stem from a shift in divorce patterns, with divorces increasingly occurring in families with higher marriage quality, making divorce more detrimental on average.

Abstract: This study examines how parenting styles predict children’s lifetime outcomes. Using a Swedish dataset which combines rich survey information on parenting styles with administrative records tracking children over five decades, we find that authoritarian parenting is negatively associated with children’s long-term success, especially  their educational attainment. The results for other parenting styles are more mixed. Authoritarian parenting remains a robust predictor of adverse outcomes even when accounting for ability and family background. We identify parental educational expectations as a key mechanism explaining these results.