Tobias Karlsson
Senior lecturer
The Historical Gender Gap Index: A Longitudinal and Spatial Assessment of Sweden, 1870-1990
Author
Summary, in English
This paper investigates the evolution of gender equality in Sweden during a phase characterized by industrialization, urbanization, and demographic transition. To this end, we build a database with quantitative indicators to construct a spatial Historical Gender Gap Index. We find that after a period of stagnation, Sweden made significant progress in closing the gender gap from the 1940s onward to reach the high level of gender equality that it is now famous for. The empirical exploration of the relationship between gender equality and economic development reveals that regions displaying higher gender equality performed economically better than less gender-equal regions.
Department/s
- Historical labour markets
- Growth, technological change, and inequality
- Economic demography
- Department of Economic History
- Centre for Economic Demography
Publishing year
2023-10-30
Language
English
Pages
943-980
Publication/Series
Journal of Economic History
Volume
83
Issue
4
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Topic
- Economic History
Keywords
- gender equality
- gender gap
- labour market
- health
- political representation
- women
- Sweden
- ninteenth century
- twentieth century
Status
Published
Project
- Female Empowerment and Economic Growth: The Case of Sweden 1749-2016
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0022-0507