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PublicationWorking paper

Ratio Working Paper No. 389: Parenthood and the Gender Gap in Academic Careers

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Abstract

Using population-wide data on Swedish university researchers and teachers, we identify the effects of parenthood on academic careers. Leveraging staggered event-study models that compare mothers and fathers around first birth, we document widening gender gaps in publication output, wage income, promotion, and PhD completion. These gaps arise across all scientific fields. We further document substantial gender differences prior to first birth and among never-parents, indicating that child-related penalties explain only part of the overall academic gender gap.

Ejermo, O., & Holmström, P. (2026). Parenthood and the Gender Gap in Academic Careers (Ratio Working Paper No. 389).

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Author
Ejermo, O., & Holmström, P.
Publication year
2026
Published in

Ratio Working Paper Series.

Related

  • Professor

    Olof Ejermo

    olof.ejermo@ekh.lu.se

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Working paper

Ratio Working Paper No. 390: Fighting Populism by Rethinking Welfare

Karlson, N.
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Publication year

2026

Published in

Ratio Working Paper Series.

Abstract

Populism thrives on discontent. It could be anything from migration and xenophobia to globalization and welfare failures. Populists deliberately use such discontent to promote polarization by demonizing opponents and attacking media, established elites, courts etc. in the name of the “true people”. As a consequence, democracy, the rule of law, and sound social and economic policies are undermined, with long-term disastrous effects. In many cases, however, the original discontent is caused by real policy failures that have not been properly solved. A major strategy for fighting back at the populist threats therefore must be to improve policy. This paper focuses on the policy failures of welfare states, a major source of discontent in many democracies. I argue that the concept of welfare has been captured and misinterpreted into government assistance programs, a presumption that needs to be abandoned and replaced by interpreting welfare as human flourishing, something that primarily can be promoted within markets and civil society, supported by a small, limited, and decent state.

Article (with peer review)

Competition and Voice in Public Education: Evidence from Sweden

Sebhatu, A., Wennberg, K., Lakomaa, E., & Brandén, M.

Publication year

2026

Published in

Education Finance and Policy, 1-40

Abstract

While numerous studies examine the effects of school competition on student performance, little research directly addresses a key critique of competition: its potential to negatively affect parental engagement and voice. We draw on Hirschman’s theory of voice to argue that voucher-based school competition increases opportunities for exit but may crowd out voice. To assess the causal effects of competition on parental voice, we employ a robust two-way fixed effects difference-in-differences framework, comparing municipalities in Sweden that introduced competition with those that did not. Our findings indicate that school complaints decline following the introduction of competition. This decrease in voice is driven by neither a decrease in problems in school nor by changes in teaching staff quality or attrition. This suggests that the decrease in complaints is driven not by an increase in school quality but rather by a substitution from voice to exit.

Article (with peer review)

Does Access to Housing Wealth Relax Liquidity Constraints for Entrepreneurs? Evidence from Sweden

Hansson, Å.

Publication year

2026

Published in

Nordic Journal of Surveying and Real Estate Research, 19(1)

Abstract

Liquidity constraints are often seen as a barrier to entrepreneurship, with many relying on personal or informal capital to start a business. This paper examines whether increased access to equity — via rising value of owner-occupied housing — affects the likelihood of business entry. Using detailed Swedish tax return data and exploiting the 2008 property tax reform as a natural experiment, we analyze how changes in house prices influence entrepreneurial activity. While higher housing prices correlate with business ownership and entry, this relationship disappears when isolating the causal effect of the tax reform. These findings contrast earlier findings and suggest that the value of owner-occupied housing proxy for individual characteristics rather than easing liquidity constraints, indicating that such constraints are not a major barrier to entrepreneurship in Sweden.

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