Stefan Öberg

Long-term changes of socioeconomic differences in height among young adult men in Southern Sweden, 1818–1968

The study explores the long-term trends in socioeconomic differences in height among young adult men. We linked information from conscript inspections to a longitudinal demographic database of five parishes in Southern Sweden. Detailed information on the occupation and landholding was used to investigate the differences in height. Even if there is indication of a reduction in the magnitude of the differences in height over time the reduction is neither dramatic nor uniform. The most systematic and consistent difference is that sons of fathers with white collar occupations were taller than others. They were 4cm taller than the sons of low-skilled manual workers in the first half of the 19th century, and almost 2cm taller in the mid-20th century. This difference is much smaller than those found between elite and destitute groups historically, in for example Britain, but comparable to that found in other studies on 19th century populations using information on family background. Most of the reduction in the socioeconomic differences in height was a result of reduced height penalty and premium for small disadvantaged and privileged groups. Changes in the distribution of income and the economic structure are plausible explanations for the changes in socioeconomic differences in height.

The direct effect of exposure to disease in early life on the height of young adult men in southern Sweden, 1814–1948

This paper considers whether short-term variation in exposure to disease early in life, as measured by a variety of mortality rates, has an effect on the height of young adults. Height information for men born in southern Sweden, 1814–1948, and included in the Scanian Economic Demographic Database (SEDD), was obtained from records of medical inspections carried out as part of Sweden’s system of universal conscription. Community-level infant mortality rates were calculated not only by year of birth but also for time in utero and in the first year of life. Comparison between brothers was used to remove the influence of confounding factors. The results suggest that any effect that exposure to disease in early life, as measured by mortality rates, may have had on height, either through selection or scarring, is likely to have been very weak. Supplementary material for this article is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00324728.2015.1045545

Too many is not enough: studying how children are affected by their number of siblings and resource dilution in families

Abstract This special issue contains a collection of papers that study how children are affected by their sibship size, using anthropometric data. The varied results provide a wealth of new knowledge and show that this influence is context-specific. In this paper I discuss the methodological challenges that we will encounter continuing research on resource dilution in families. The most important challenge is the plausible endogeneity of sibship size and thus biased estimates of the effect. The problem of endogeneity can be made worse through residual confounding caused by measurement error. I argue that we need to be creative and find many different ways to circumvent the problems of endogeneity, for example by looking for testable implications of the resource dilution model or studying specific situations or groups. Comparative or longitudinal studies, utilizing the variation and changes in societal contexts and institutions across time and place could also provide ways forward. In general it is the basics of the scientific method that we need to keep in mind when we continue research on this topic: formulate explicit models, do replication studies, separate exploratory and confirmatory analyses, report negative results, and be cautious of over-explaining results.

Routes and determinants of leaving home: the city of Gothenburg, 1915–1943

Abstract This paper deals with the home-leaving of young adults in Gothenburg, Sweden, in the period 1915–1943. We used individual-level panel data from population registers and poll-tax records, taking a competing risk design for the analysis of the determinants of leaving home to marry, or for non-familial living. We found a transitional, marriage-driven pattern of leaving home that neither fits the old context of life cycle service, nor the alternative modern routes out of the parental home into unmarried householdship. Young adults typically stayed at home until they married, although some moved out to temporary non-familial living first. Non-familial living consisted mainly of lodging in another household, but working outside it, which in a way was a forerunner of the modern pattern, in sharp contrast with the remnant of preindustrial times: the flow from rural areas into Gothenburg of teenage women immigrants to become residential domestic servants. Interestingly, we found that the main determinants of home-leaving in studies of modern-day populations were equally important in the population of Gothenburg in 1915–1943. For both young men and young women, having their own resources (employment, earnings) was positively associated with the likelihood of leaving the parental home. We also found clear gender differences. A higher level of human capital of the father was associated with later home-leaving to marry for sons, and earlier leaving for non-familial living for daughters. Lower levels of household income, or the presence of minor siblings or a widowed parent were push factors for non-familial living for daughters. We found no similar push factors for sons.