At the Uppsala History of Inequality and Labor Lab (UHILL), we are focused on the study of economic inequality and labor markets, from the industrial period to the present. By leveraging historical, micro-level datasets gathered by our team and employing modern econometric methods, we investigate the historical forces shaping economic disparities. Our aim is to provide insights that not only enhance our understanding of the past but also inform current debates on inequality and labor market dynamics.
The lab is based at the Department of Economic History at Uppsala University but engages researchers from a number of disciplines and institutions. You can see our members and affilated reserachers here.
We are available to supervise students writing their essays. Contact us if you are interested.
New publications
- William Skoglund's introductory kappa for his thesis: Power Matters: Essays on Labor Market Power is now available. You can read it here.
- Read Johan Ericsson's and Jakob Molinder's new publication How Deep Are the Roots of Swedish Egalitarianism? A Multidimensional Approach in European Review of Economic History.
- Read Jakob Molinder's new publication Power for progress: The impact of electricity on individual labor market outcomes in Explorations in Economic History.
- Read Jonatan Andersson's new publication Ascending from the bottom rung: The labor market assimilation of rural-urban migrants in Sweden, 1880–1910 in Explorations in Economic History.
- Lab members Jonatan Andersson and Jakob Molinder have a new article published in The Journal of Urban Economics called "Did Cities Increase Skills During Industrialization? Evidence from Rural-Urban Migration". You can read it here.
Announcements:
- Member of the lab, Diego Castañeda Garza, received a three-year Wallander postdoc grant from Jan Wallanders och Tom Hedelius stiftelse samt Tore Browaldhs stiftelse.
- Three lab members are part of projects that received funding from the Swedish Research Council. Jakob Molinder for "Top incomes, inequality and economic change: Sweden, 1911–1950", Johan Ericsson for “Institutional change and agrarian development in Sweden 1800–1900”, and Jonatan Andersson for “Consequences of demolition of housing estates for individuals and neighborhoods”.
- Diego Castañeda Garza was awarded the prize for best dissertation in Economic History between 2023 and 2025 by the Swedish Economic History Association.
- Member of the lab, Diego Castañeda Garza, has been shortlisted for the prestigious Gerschenkron Prize for the best dissertation in the economic history of an area outside of the United States or Canada. The winner will be announced at the annual EHA meeting in Philadelphia on the 6th of September.
- The co-director of the lab, Jonatan Andersson is being awarded the Geijer Prize for his dissertation. Jonatan has previously been shortlisted for the Dissertation Prize at the 2025 World Economic History Congress (WEHC) taking place in Lund, Sweden this summer and has received the prestigious 3-year Wallander postdoc grant from Jan Wallanders och Tom Hedelius stiftelse.
Upcoming researcher visits at the Lab:
- Leonardo Costa Ribeiro from the Department of Economics at the Federal University of Minas Gerais is visiting the lab during the period December 15th 2025 to February 28th 2026.
Previous researcher visits at the Lab:
- Valeria Peshko from the Department of Social and Economic History at the University of Helsinki visited the lab during the period from September 21th to October 3rd 2025.
- Leonardo Costa Ribeiro from the Federal University of Minas Gerais visited the Lab during the period from 20th of January to the 28th of February 2025.
- Benjamin Schneider from Oslo Met visited the Lab during the week of 20th-24th of January 2025.