Gunnar Malmberg

Neoliberalization of housing in Sweden: gentrification, filtering and social polarization

During the last twenty-five years, housing policy in Sweden has radically changed. Once forming a pillar of the comprehensive welfare system, abbreviated the “Swedish model,” neoliberal housing politics have established market-governed housing provision with a minimum of state engagement. This shift has had consequences on the social geography of housing conditions. The research reported here analyzes social geographic change in Swedens three largest cities—Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö—between 1986 and 2001, relating observed patterns of gentrification and filtering to cycles of accumulation and to neoliberalization of housing policies. First, we outline the neoliberalization of Swedish housing policies. We then present an empirical analysis of gentrification and filtering in the three cities, spanning two boom periods (1986–1991, 1996–2001) and a bust period (1991–1996). The data reveal social geographic polarization manifested in the growth of supergentrification and low-income filtering. The analysis also introduces the concept of ordinary gentrification, supporting the move in gentrification research toward a broad generic conception of the process. Political reforms after 2001 are summarized and we argue that these underlie the continued increase in inequality and that the social geographic polarization mapped between 1986 and 2001 has probably intensified during this decade.

Agglomeration mobility: effects of localisation, urbanisation, and scale on job changes

Following increased attention being paid to the importance of labour-market processes in relation to knowledge diffusion and learning, this study addresses the influence of agglomeration economies (localisation, urbanisation, and scale) on the propensity to change jobs between and within local labour markets. From the use of longitudinal individual data (1990–2002), controlling for factors such as age, sex, income, and social relations, the results show that the composition of regional economies influences labour-market dynamism. We identify two cases of intraregional agglomeration mobility, that is, positive effects on job mobility, due to the concentration of similar activities (localisation economies) and the size of the labour market (urbanisation economies). The results also show that localisation economies compensate for regional structural disadvantages connected to small population numbers, as localisation effects in small regions have a significantly positive effect on intraregional job-mobility rates, even compared with localisation effects in large and diversified metropolitan areas. The results indicate that the concentration of similar activities may be useful for small regions, if high levels of job mobility are crucial for the transfer of knowledge and the performance of firms.

The attraction of the rural: Characteristics of rural migrants in Sweden

Abstract This paper investigates the characteristics of rural migrants in Sweden divided into periurban and remote countryside using register data at the individual level. The results show that during the two years of investigation, 1987 and 1993, there was a concentration of the population in general but the periurban countryside gained migrants from the cities. In addition, the migration pattern had an aging effect on the population in rural areas. It is also shown that migration selectivity is relatively stable during the study period. The countryside is less attractive than urban areas to those with high income and high education but when the two types of countrysides are compared to each other the periurban is more attractive. Despite the renewed interest in rural living which has been reported in other studies, remote rural areas are less attractive to migrants than periurban areas in Sweden.

Moving related to separation : who moves and to what distance

We address the issue of moving from the joint home on the occasion of separation. Our research question is: To what extent can the occurrence of moves related to separation, and the distance moved, be explained by ties to the location, resources, and other factors influencing the likelihood of moving of persons who separate and their ex-partners? We use data from the unique ASTRID micro database for Sweden, based on administrative information about the entire Swedish population. The methods are logistic regression analysis of moving, and OLS regression of the log-distance moved, for people from two-gender couples who separated during the period 2004–05. We find marked negative effects of local ties to parents and siblings, work, and the location in general on moving and moving distance. The results concerning resources and other factors influencing moving were less pronounced. Particularly striking was the absence of an effect of education level.

Who is using snus? - Time trends, socioeconomic and geographic characteristics of snus users in the ageing Swedish population

BackgroundThe prevalence of smoking in Sweden has decreased in recent decades, and is now among the lowest in the world. During the same period, the use of Swedish moist oral snuff, a smokeless tobacco called snus, has increased. Few studies have evaluated time trends of the socioeconomic and geographic characteristics of snus users in Sweden. This paper contributes to filling that gap.MethodsThis study utilized the Linnaeus Database, which links national registers with comprehensive individual data on socioeconomic status (SES) to health data from a large ongoing health survey, the Västerbotten Intervention Programme (VIP). The VIP targets the entire middle-aged population of Västerbotten county at ages 40, 50 and 60 years with yearly cross-sectional surveys including self-reported data on tobacco habits. Time trends of snus use among 92,563 VIP-participants across different areas of residence and smoking groups were investigated graphically. Logistic regression was performed to estimate the associations between SES and geographical variables and current use versus non-use of snus.ResultsOverall, in parallel to decreasing smoking, the increasing trend of snus use in this middle-aged population continues, particularly in 40-year-olds. In both genders, the highest prevalence of snus use was observed among previous smokers. The prevalence of snus use also increased over time among smokers, and was consistently higher compared to those who had never smoked. Among males - both those who had never smoked and previous smokers - low education (OR 1.21, 95%CI 1.06-1.40 and OR 1.28, 95%CI 1.14-1.43), living alone (OR 1.16, 95%CI 1.07-1.27 and OR 1.13, 95%ci 1.04-1.23), low income and living in rural areas was associated with using snus, while this was not seen among male current smokers. Among women, living alone was associated with using snus irrespective of smoking habits. Among female smokers, the OR for snus use increased with higher education.ConclusionsA disadvantaged social profile and also higher prevalence in rural areas is observed among male snus users who had never smoked or were previous smokers. Among male smokers there was no association between SES and use of snus. The prevalence of snus use among women is increasing, but is still considerably lower than that of men. The association between snus and SES characteristics is less pronounced among women, although snus is clearly linked to living alone. These patterns should be taken into consideration in tobacco control policies.

Longitudinal data for interdisciplinary ageing research : Design of the Linnaeus Database

Rationale: To allow for interdisciplinary research on the relations between socioeconomic conditions and health in the ageing population, a new anonymized longitudinal database — the Linnaeus Database — has been developed at the Centre for Population Studies at Umeå University. This paper presents the database and its research potential. Design: Using the Swedish personal numbers the researchers have, in collaboration with Statistics Sweden and the National Board for Health and Welfare, linked individual records from Swedish register data on death causes, hospitalization and various socioeconomic conditions with two databases — Betula and VIP (Västerbottens Intervention Programme) — previously developed by the researchers at Umeå University. Whereas Betula includes rich information about e.g. cognitive functions, VIP contains information about e.g. lifestyle and health indicators. Population and sample size: The Linnaeus Database includes annually updated socioeconomic information from Statistics Sweden registers for all registered residents of Sweden for the period 1990 to 2006, in total 12,066,478. The information from the Betula includes 4,500 participants from the city of Umeå and VIP includes data for almost 90,000 participants. Both datasets include cross-sectional as well as longitudinal information. Potential: Due to the coverage and rich information, the Linnaeus Database allows for a variety of longitudinal studies on the relations between, for instance, socioeconomic conditions, health, lifestyle, cognition, family networks, migration and working conditions in ageing cohorts. Conclusions: By joining various datasets developed in different disciplinary traditions new possibilities for interdisciplinary research on ageing emerge.

Local Ties and Family Migration

The migration of couples and families has thus far been approached mainly from human-capital and gender perspectives. In this paper, we investigate how the male and female partners local ties influence the likelihood of family migration. Our hypotheses are that local ties to work and family strongly decrease the likelihood of migrating; that, given the dominating gender structures, ties to the mans work are more influential than ties to the womans work; and that ties to the womans family are more influential than ties to the mans family. We used data from the ASTRID microdatabase for Sweden, based on administrative information about the entire Swedish population. Logistic regression analysis was applied to moves that exceeded a distance of 50 km for two-gender couples who did not separate in the period December 2004–December 2005. With regard to the likelihood of migrating, we find marked negative associations in the following: working close to home, the presence of parents and siblings nearby, and whether someone lives near the place of birth. The mans ties to work seem to be more important to the likelihood of migrating than the womans, but we find hardly any gender differences in the impact of ties to family.

Life course socioeconomic position and mortality: A population register-based study from Sweden

Aims: Adverse social circumstances during one’s life course have been related to an increased risk of mortality. This article extends the literature by focusing on adversity at each phase of, and cumulatively at midlife in the Swedish population. Methods: Data on socioeconomic indicators from 1970, 1980 and 1990 were linked to death registrations from 2000 to 2009. Relative indices of inequalities were computed for socioeconomic indicators, in order to measure the cumulative impact of inequality on mortality. Results: A significant cumulative effect of being in the worst-off socioeconomic groups was found. For men, almost all indicators had a significant independent impact on risk of death. Among women, significant independent impacts were found for education in 1990 and for socioeconomic index in the 2 census years of 1970 and 1980. Conclusions: Being disadvantaged during a longer period in midlife has a significant negative impact on health. Policies targeted to reduce health inequality should focus on every stage of the midlife course.

Do unequal societies cause death among the elderly? A study of the health effects of inequality in Swedish municipalities in 2006

Background : A lively public and academic debate has highlighted the potential health risks of living in regions characterized by inequality. Research provides an ambiguous picture, however, with positive association between income equality and health mainly being found on higher levels of geographical division, such as nations, but rarely at local level. Methods : We examined the association between income inequality (using the Gini coefficient) and all-cause mortality in Swedish municipalities in the 65–74 age group. A multi-level analysis was applied and controlled for by variables including individual income and average income level in the municipality. The analyses were based on individual register data on all residents born between 1932 and 1941, outcomes were measured for the year 2006. Results: Lower individual income and lower average income in the municipality of residence were associated with significantly increased mortality. We found an association between income inequality and mortality with excessive deaths in unequal municipalities after controlling for mean income level and personal income. The results from the analysis of individual data differed substantially from the analysis of aggregate data. Conclusions: Income inequality was significantly associated with mortality in the age group 65–74 at municipality level. The association is small compared to many other variables, but is not negligible. Even in a comparatively equal society like Sweden, the potential effects of income inequality on mortality at the local level warrant consideration.BACKGROUND A lively public and academic debate has highlighted the potential health risks of living in regions characterized by inequality. Research provides an ambiguous picture, however, with positive association between income equality and health mainly being found on higher levels of geographical division, such as nations, but rarely at local level. METHODS We examined the association between income inequality (using the Gini coefficient) and all-cause mortality in Swedish municipalities in the 65-74 age group. A multi-level analysis was applied and controlled for by variables including individual income and average income level in the municipality. The analyses were based on individual register data on all residents born between 1932 and 1941, outcomes were measured for the year 2006. RESULTS Lower individual income and lower average income in the municipality of residence were associated with significantly increased mortality. We found an association between income inequality and mortality with excessive deaths in unequal municipalities after controlling for mean income level and personal income. The results from the analysis of individual data differed substantially from the analysis of aggregate data. CONCLUSIONS Income inequality was significantly associated with mortality in the age group 65-74 at municipality level. The association is small compared to many other variables, but is not negligible. Even in a comparatively equal society like Sweden, the potential effects of income inequality on mortality at the local level warrant consideration.

Use of moist smokeless tobacco (snus) and the risk of development of alcohol dependence : a cohort study in a middle-aged population in Sweden.

BACKGROUND Convincing evidence shows that smoking is associated with alcohol dependence (AD) and a positive correlation between snus and alcohol consumption was previously shown in cross-sectional studies. We performed a longitudinal evaluation of the risk of snus users to develop AD. METHODS A cohort study in Västerbotten County, Sweden, linked individual data on socioeconomic situation and health survey data from 21,037 men and women (46.5% men). AD was defined by the CAGE questionnaire and evaluated at baseline 1991-1997 and again after 10 years. The risk of developing AD was assessed using logistic regression analysis and propensity score matching. RESULTS 2370 men and 430 women used snus and were without AD at baseline. Over the 10-year period, 499 men and 257 women developed AD, among whom 191 and 26, respectively, were baseline snus users. The crude relative risks of AD for male and female snus users compared to non-users were 1.8 with 95% CI (1.5, 2.2) and 2.9 (2.0, 4.3), respectively. Adjusted logistic regression showed a positive dose-response relationship between snus use and risk of AD. Analyses involving propensity score matching revealed 33 and 17 new cases of AD in men and women, respectively, after 10 years given 1000 men and 1000 women without AD had been baseline snus users rather than non-users. Results for current, previous and never smokers were similar. CONCLUSIONS The use of snus is prospectively associated with an increased risk of AD with a dose-response relationship that is independent of smoking status.