Unequal lives: From Pre-Industrial society to Welfare Era

As a Wallenberg Scholar, Martin Dribe wants to examine the long-term development of demographic inequalities in people's lives. He studies not only economic factors but also the importance of family, children, health, life expectancy and neighbourhood.

The last 200 years have seen revolutionary changes in people's living conditions across the industrialised world. Material living standards have multiplied and average life expectancy has doubled, while the number of children per woman has more than halved. However, the effects of these changes have not been equal for all people in society and have resulted in major inequalities. 

“We study issues that are highly relevant to the societal challenges facing Sweden and the entire Western world. Economic inequality has increased in recent decades, as has inequality in health and life expectancy. We need better knowledge of the historical changes that created these inequalities to meet today's challenges,” says Martin Dribe.

He and his research team analyse long-term changes in demographic inequality and link these to the extensive social transformation that has taken place since the beginning of the 19th century. They follow people throughout their lives and match events and outcomes at different stages of life.

Databases on the entire Swedish population

The research covers the transformation from the pre-industrial society at the beginning of the 19th century to the developed welfare state at the beginning of the 21st century. It is based on extensive empirical studies of individual life courses. The researchers make good use of a relatively new national research infrastructure – SwedPop – which consists of several historical population databases covering the entire Swedish population. A great number of individuals can be followed throughout their lives and from one generation to another. 

Another societal challenge is the fact that we are getting older, while fewer people are being born. The low fertility rate is linked to changes in families, working life and the welfare state, where there are major differences between socio-economic groups. Martin Dribe's hope is that his results, and those of his research team, can contribute to a better understanding of these processes and how population development can approach a long-term sustainable level.