Demographic and educational success of descendants: a prospective analysis of the number of great grandchildren and their education in 19th, 20th and 21st century Northern Sweden

Martin Kolk, Stockholm University
Martin Hällsten, Stockholm University

Both demographic behavior and socioeconomic position are inherited across generations, both in contemporary societies and in 19th century populations. In this study we examine differences in kinship and educational achievements of descendants starting in the second half of the 19th century using data from Northern Sweden. Using a prospective approach which examines a representative population of predominantly farmers born in the Skellefteå region in the 1860s and 1870s we examine the interrelationship between number of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and the educational level of these descendants. Our data is linked with Swedish registers of the complete population starting in 1960 until 2007 which allows us to track descendants in all of Sweden taking account of geographical mobility which often makes linkages across multiple generations selective and complicated. Our data allows us to follow our population during the fertility transition, industrial revolution, and later educational expansion in Sweden. We examine the complex relationships between number of children, different generation length and socioeconomic data presenting data on the distribution of fertility outcomes, kinship structure, birth year, and educational level among great grandchildren of our descendant population in the second half of the 20th century.