The Origin and Reproduction of Political Inequality: Political Mobility in Sweden over the past 100 years

Description

The principle of equality of political opportunity lies at heart of democracy. Ideally, all citizens should have the same opportunity to engage in politics regardless of who their parents are. But to what extent is this the case? Whereas there is plenty of research on how social and economic positions are passed on from parents to children, much less is known about the transmission of political inequality between generations. For instance, to what extent are children to politically active parents more likely to vote or run for political office themselves? And if so, why is that the case and what can be done about it?

The aim of the proposed project is to answer vital questions such as these. One likely reason for the lack of research on this important topic is the shortage of adequate data. This project seeks to remedy this state of affairs by utilizing population-wide data from Swedish administrative registers that offer excellent opportunities for studying political participation at the mass level (electoral participation) as well as at the elite level (nomination for and involvement in political assemblies).